Where I Belong
by Krissey-da-Cougar
Summary: Tikal, Amy, Sonic and Shadow go on a doubledate, and all seems well...at first. When Tikal gets kidnapped by Eggman, Sonic and Shadow fall into a deadly trap. For Sonic, it could mean the loss of the will to live. For Shadow, the loss of life. No cussies.
1. Doubledate!

Amy hummed quietly to herself as she sprayed perfume around her neck. She wanted everything to be perfect tonight. Why? Tonight would be her first date with her love. Yes, she finally got Sonic to go on a date with her. And more importantly, it was going to be a double-date. Shadow and Tikal were going to be there as well, and Amy wanted everything to be just perfect (and romantic).

Taking a deep breath, she stepped back to examine herself. She furrowed her eyebrows. How was she supposed to know how she looked without someone else's opinion?

As if on cue, the doorbell to her apartment rang.

"Coming!" she called, and stepped away to answer the door. To her relief, it was Tikal.

"Hey, Tikal. What are you doing here so early?" Amy greeted, stepping back so the echidna could come in.

"I just wanted to come in so I could get an opinion on my clothes," the apricot echidna answered as Amy closed the door.

Amy's heart raced with joy. "Really? Same here!"

Tikal smiled, but then asked, "So, how do you think I look?"

Amy held her breath as she turned around. Tikal was absolutely gorgeous. Her necklace and accessories were shining as if they had their own pride, and her white sleeveless dress that went below her knees twirled slightly. To tell the truth, to Amy, she looked like an angel.

"Wow, Tikal. That's beautiful. Shadow will LOVE that!" Amy breathed.

Tikal blushed at the compliment. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, how do I look?" Amy quickly asked, turning in a circle.

Tikal smiled. Amy didn't look so bad herself. Her normal rings that were around her gloves were shined to perfection, and her red dress was similar to Tikal's, except for the fact that she had a translucent red fabric that draped behind her back and around her arms. Instead of her normal red boots, she wore red sandals like Tikal's white ones.

"It's wonderful," Tikal commented, bringing her hands together.

Amy looked at Tikal, her eyes full of hope. "You really think so?"

Tikal smiled, and laid a hand on the nervous hedgehogs shoulder. "I know so."

Amy smiled back. Just then, Amy's alarm clock beeped. The pink hedgehog looked at her watch.

"Oh my. We'd better hurry if we want to get to the restaurant on time," Amy informed.

Tikal nodded, and the two exited the apartment, their hearts beating in anticipation.

………

Sonic paced with his hands behind his back. Shadow sat on a nearby bench, patiently. Neither of the two were dressed up for the date, but both were nervous.

"Sonic! Shadow! Finally!" both hedgehogs turned to see Rouge running up to them.

"Rogue! What took you so long?" Sonic asked, seemingly relieved.

The bat took a moment to recover her breath. Then, she replied, "It took a while to convince Knuckles to be in on this, but he finally agreed." She held out two ear plugs, one for each hedgehog. "Here, these are the speakers in which we will talk to you in. We will be hiding around here, following you guys. Just listen to us, and you two should be okay."

"SHOULD be? Isn't there a more convincing way to say that?" Shadow asked, putting his earplug in.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. You to WILL be okay. Just stay calm and try not to arouse the girls' suspicions, okay?"

Sonic and Shadow gave a thumbs up. Rouge smiled back, and then turned heel and ran.

Shadow turned to the blue hedgehog beside him. "Are you sure Knuckles knows what to do on a date?" he asked.

"Well…you never know with THAT Knucklehead, but at least he'll make sure Rouge won't make us kiss them or anything…" Sonic replied.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you know Rouge. She's always being so…well, you know. Sometimes, I think she reads too much romance novels," Sonic answered.

Shadow stifled a laugh. "I know what you mean."

Sonic smiled, and looked behind his friends shoulder. His eyes widened. "Hubba…hubba…" he muttered.

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

Sonic raised a finger, and pointed. "Hubba…."

Shadow shook his head and turned around. His mouth dropped open. "Hubba…hubba…"

Amy and Tikal smiled casually, walking up to the two.

"Hi, Sonic," Amy greeted gently, smiling.

"Hi, Shadow," Tikal said, smiling the same way.

Sonic and Shadow slapped a hand over their mouths, muffling another, "Hubba…hubba…"

Amy and Tikal exchanged glances, giggling.

"Sonic! Don't just stand there! Take Amy inside!" Knuckles ordered through the earplug.

Sonic shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Shadow, you too!" Rouge commanded.

The two exchanged glances. Luckily, Amy and Tikal couldn't hear the advice they were being given.

"So, um…Tikal, would you like to come inside?" Shadow asked.

Tikal smiled. "Sure," she replied.

"Good job, Shadow! Okay, now, take her arm—GENTLY—and lead her inside," Rouge informed.

As Tikal started to walk by, Shadow (even though he didn't want to), wrapped his arm around hers and walked with her.

"Same goes for you, Sonic!" Knuckles said.

Sonic gulped.

"Aren't you going to take me in, Sonic?" Amy asked, confused.

"Uh…yeah!" he replied. He then cleared his throat, and did the same as the ebony hedgehog before him.

"Good job, you two!" Rouge complimented. "Now, pull out their chair for them, and let them sit down in it before scooting them in."

Shadow, being the first one to arrive at the table, pulled out Tikal's chair politely. Tikal blushed and sat down. As soon as she sat, he gently pushed the chair back towards the table. Sonic did the same. Then, the two sat down in their chairs.

Tikal leaned over to the pink hedgehog beside her and whispered, "Where did they learn all these manners?"

Amy shrugged. "Beats me." Upon seeing her friend's worried expression, she added, "It's probably nothing, Tikal. Just enjoy it."

Tikal nodded, sitting up straight again. She put her suspicion in the back of her head. Amy was probably right, she figured.

Sonic and Shadow exchanged nervous glances. Instantly, they both held up their menus to hide their faces as they discussed the problem.

"Do you think Tikal knows?" Sonic whispered.

Shadow shook his head. "No. But she knows SOMETHING is going on. We have to be careful, Sonic. Tikal is different. She can tell a person's feelings just by taking a deep look into their eyes."

Sonic's eyes widened. "Whoa. Freaky."

Shadow nodded.

"So…why are you going out with her again?" Sonic suddenly asked.

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Oh just be quiet! The point is: we have to avoid eye contact! Or else she'll know EVERYTHING!"

Sonic shook his head in pity. "I feel sorry for you…she's your date and yet, you can't make eye contact."

"BE QUIET!" Shadow whispered harshly.

"Guys, is something wrong?" Tikal finally asked.

At the same time, Sonic and Shadow dropped their menu back onto the table, folding their hands and smiling.

"No, everything's fine," they replied.

Tikal nodded, but Sonic and Shadow could see that she wasn't firmly convinced.

"Way to go, faker," Shadow whispered through clenched teeth.

"Sorry!" Sonic whispered back.

Just then, the waitress came to the table. "Hello, my name is Charlene. I'll be serving you today. So, to start off with, what would you two lovely couples want to drink?"

All four of them felt their cheeks turn a light shade of pink at the adjectives Charlene used.

"Um…I'll just take an orange soda, please," Tikal said.

Charlene nodded. Her green eyes looked at the paper as she scribbled down the beverage. The squirrel turned to Amy expectantly.

"I'll have a raspberry iced tea, thank you," the pink hedgehog informed.

Charlene scribbled down the order, and then turned to Sonic.

"Lemonade," was all he said.

"SAY PLEASE!" Rouge scolded.

"…please!" he suddenly blurted.

The waitress looked at him oddly, and he merely smiled. Charlene sighed, shaking her head as she wrote it down. Then, she turned to Shadow.

"Coffee, please," Shadow gave Sonic a look that said, learn-from-the-pro.

Charlene nodded, writing the last one. "All right. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order." With that, the squirrel left.

Tikal immediately turned to look at Sonic, but the blue hedgehog held his menu up to hide his face. The apricot echidna furrowed her eyebrows. Shadow saw this, and so must've Knuckles (where ever he was).

"Start a conversation!" the red echidna urged.

"Um…isn't it a beautiful night?" he suddenly asked.

He heard a slap on his earplug. "Grand conversation, Shadow," Knuckles commented sarcastically.

Tikal and Amy both looked at him oddly. Tikal finally sighed, letting her suspicions go again.

"Yes…I suppose it is…" she informed dreamily, staring outside.

Amy got an idea. "Hey, Sonic?" she called.

The blue hedgehog put his menu down, but made sure to not make eye contact with Tikal. "Yeah?"

"Can we go out walking after we eat?"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances, awaiting advice from Knuckles or Rouge. None came.

"I guess…" he finally said, looking back at his date.

"Yes! Thank you so much, Sonikku!" Amy informed.

Sonic smiled. "You're welcome."

Suddenly, Shadow was struck with an idea. "Hey, how about we go walking on the beach tonight?"

Sonic's eyes widened. "No, I think it would be—"

"That's a great idea, Shadow!" Amy agreed.

Sonic closed his eyes in misery and let his head fall down on the table.

"NO! Sonic, sit back up—STRAIGHT! You do NOT let your head fall on the table!" Rouge scolded.

In an instant, as if he had been whipped, the blue hedgehog sat up straight and stiff. Shadow tried to stifle a laugh.

Tikal and Amy stared at him with puzzled expressions. Sonic tried to think of an excuse.

"I…uh…thought I smelled chili dogs, but I guess I was wrong," he quickly informed.

Amy relaxed, but Tikal furrowed her eyebrows. But before she could say anything, the waitress came back, giving them their drinks. After placing their meals and having Charlene leave to retrieve them, the group fell in silence.

Shadow reached for his cup of coffee, and brought it to his lips, just when he heard Knuckles on the other end yell, "PINKY UP!"

In a flash, the pinky was held high…but for some reason, it wouldn't stand straight.

"I SAID PINKY UP!" the echidna shouted again.

"Knuckles, calm down. He probably can't bring it up that high," he heard Rouge inform.

"Oh well, he's going to do it! PINKY UP!" Knuckles yelled.

"What if he can't?" Rouge shouted back.

"Then tough luck! Pink up and straight!" Knuckles commanded.

"All right, that's it! If you can't give orders properly, I will!" Rouge yelled.

"NO! You talked me into this, so I'm not going to have been away from my Master Emerald for nothing!"

"Give me that microphone!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!'

"No!"

Shadow and Sonic held a hand up to their ears. Both of them were wincing from the pain.

Tikal and Amy saw this.

"Sonic? Is everything all right?" Amy asked.

The blue hedgehog nodded stiffly. " Yeah, I think we just got an earache."

"An IMMENSE earache…ow…" Shadow winced.

Tikal stood up, throwing her napkin down. "All right, that's it! Something is going on—and don't try to give me any excuses!"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances as the apricot echidna walked over.

"Uncover your ears," she ordered. 

The two hedgehogs just looked at her.

"BOTH of you!" she exclaimed.

Slowly, Sonic and Shadow did as told.

Tikal looked closely in Shadow's ear. She gasped, and pulled out the earplug.

"What is…?"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances. Shadow sighed in defeat.

"It's an earplug so then we could get advice from Knuckles and Rouge…" he admitted.

"You mean…all this…was an act?" she asked. Shadow looked up.

"No…it wasn't an act. We just didn't know what to do—"

"On your first date. So, this is how it's done? By trying to have manners?" Tikal asked.

Shadow sighed. "I don't know why you are making a big deal out of this," he muttered.

"Why? I'll tell you why! When you suddenly think your boyfriend changed to a gentleman, and you figure out it was all because he was told how it's done, you just…" Tikal felt tears swell up in her eyes. "…you just think you have been played." With that, the heart broken echidna ran out of the restaurant.

"Tikal, wait!" Shadow called, running after her.

Sonic and Amy sat in silence for a few moments. Every else in the restaurant had been staring at their table, but then went back to their usual conversations.

"Is it true?" Amy asked quietly.

Sonic looked up. "Hmm?"

"Is it true that you were being told how to act the whole entire time?" she asked again.

Sonic sighed, and pulled out his earplug.

Amy looked at it for the longest time.

"Look, Ames. I'm sorry—"

"No. There's no need to be."

"What?" Sonic stared at the pink hedgehog across from him, surprised.

"I understand what you were trying to do. You didn't want to make me angry for not having proper manners, did you?" Amy looking her hero straight in the eye.

Sonic hesitated, but then nodded.

The pink hedgehog sighed. "Although it does make me angry, I understand that all you wanted to do was make me happy and impressed." She took another breath, walked over, and sat in Shadow's chair.

Sonic began to get nervous.

"Sonic…next time, you don't need advice from some people who have been on a date before. You learn as you go. That's the fun in dating. You learn what to do," Amy informed.

Sonic looked down. "Okay…I guess…I'm sorry…"

Amy smiled, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I forgive you."

Sonic smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

………..

Tikal ran through the calm dark night. She ignored the constant calls of her love, and just focused on ahead. She'd be much happier when she was in her own apartment again. How she wanted to forget what happened back there!

"Tikal! Tikal, where are you?" Shadow kept calling.

Tikal sighed. She knew Shadow was much faster than her, and probably would find her in no time. With a troubled heart, she stopped running, and called, "I'm right here!"

"Tikal!" Shadow sounded much closer. In a flash he was standing in front of her.

"Tikal, I'm sorry about what happened back there. I just didn't want to make you angry," Shadow informed.

"You could've thought about that before you came," Tikal answered, avoiding eye contact.

Shadow sighed. "I wanted to show you that I could be the kind of hedgehog you wanted—"

"The kind of hedgehog I wanted!" Tikal gawked. "Shadow, you should know better!"

The ebony hedgehog looked down.

"The only kind of hedgehog I wanted was you!"

Shadow looked back up, surprised.

"Shadow, I didn't want you to try to be something you're not! I wanted you to be you—even if that meant that you wouldn't have manners!" Tikal took a deep breath, and continued more quietly, "I love you for being you, and that's all it ever will be. It will never be for your strength, or your speed. It will be for who you are. You are Shadow the Hedgehog, the hedgehog I loved ever since I first met him."

Shadow was stunned. "Tikal…I…I don't know what to say…"

Tikal smiled gently, blinking back her tears. "Well…you could say you're sorry and go back in to get dessert."

Shadow smiled back. "Very well, then. I'm sorry, and let's go back in to get some dessert, shall we?"

Tikal opened her mouth to answer, but someone else spoke for her.

"Or we shall not!"

Tikal turned around and gasped.

"Eggman!" Shadow yelled, quickly standing in the way of Tikal.

"Ho-ho! Look who's all pretty and dressed up!" Eggman noted, eyeing Tikal. The echidna coward back at his gaze.

"Keep your unwanted remarks to yourself!" Shadow spat.

"Well…being a little defensive there, aren't we?" Dr. Eggman replied.

"Stop fooling around! What do you want?" Shadow exclaimed.

The scientist grinned. "I've been waiting for you to ask that…my want is something very, very simple…"

"Well, most likely, you ain't going to have it! But since I am such a good-natured hedgehog, I'll lend an ear and listen to your wish," Shadow informed.

"Very well, then. I want you and that blue hedgehog friend of yours to meet me in the deepest part of Mystic Ruins—ALONE. Bring your two chaos emeralds with you, also," the scientist grinned.

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. "NEVER!"

"Never, eh? Well, then…I'll just have to get rid of your girlfriend, here, won't I?" To Shadow's surprise, suddenly, a tentacle-like part of Eggman's hover craft slithered in front of him, wrapped tightly around Tikal.

"Shadow! Help!" Tikal cried, struggling to get free of the tentacle's strong grasp.

"I can easily squeeze her right here, right now, if you do not comply," Eggman informed.

Shadow took a glance behind him to see if it was a trick, but it wasn't. That was the real Tikal in Eggman's hands.

He looked at the mad scientist, defeated. "All right…when do you want us there?"

Eggman laughed. "I knew you'd come to reasoning! Meet me there, TONIGHT. Oh, and I'll know if you bring anyone else…I'll know…"

With that, the mad scientist flew off, laughing. As he did, Tikal and Shadow's eyes met for a second, both worried for the other. Once they were out of sight, Shadow's eyes didn't leave the place where he last saw his love.

"Shadow!" he heard Sonic call for him.

"Tikal!" that was Amy.

"Where are you two?" Sonic yelled.

Shadow sighed. "I'm over here!"

"Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed, and in a flash, both of them were in front of him.

"Shadow, we were so worried about you! You missed the meal! And…" Amy looked around. "Where's Tikal?"

Shadow looked down. "She's gone."

"What?" Sonic asked.

"She's gone. Eggman has her. He wants us to meet him at his base in the deepest part of the Mystic Ruins—with both of our chaos emeralds—ALONE," Shadow answered.

Amy gasped. "No…"

"And what if we don't?" Sonic wondered, dreading the answer.

Shadow looked up, worry in his crimson eyes. "He'll kill her."


	2. No Way Out

"You ready?" Sonic asked the ebony hedgehog beside him.

Shadow took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be," he answered.

Sonic nodded and looked ahead. It was all up to them, now. They couldn't have any communication with anyone else; no one else was to know of what was going to happen. Only Amy knew, and she couldn't come along. Eggman's orders.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow stepped forward in front of the closed door. Sonic followed.

"Okay…how do we get in?" Sonic asked the question that was on both of their minds.

As if on cue, a female monotone voice said, "Who desires entrance to Doctor Eggman, the greatest scientist of all time's, lair?"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances that said that-is-so-Eggman.

"We do. Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog," Sonic informed, stepping forward.

There was a pause, and then, "Very well. Access granted. You may proceed."

The metal doors opened. Mustering their courage, the two hedgehogs stepped inside the small lift that would take them to wherever they needed to be. They turned around as the doors closed behind them. Then, suddenly, the elevator lifted, taking them to their destination. During this ride, a small screen on the wall suddenly flickered on, revealing the fat man himself.

"Greetings, Sonic and Shadow, my two adversaries. May I ask if you have the two chaos emeralds?" Eggman wondered, his fingers tapping against each other.

Shadow opened the small sack they took with them, and revealed two emeralds: one yellow and one blue.

"Excellent!" Eggman praised.

"Don't forget YOUR side of the bargain, Egghead! You'd better give us Tikal back!" Sonic reminded.

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Oh yes…that girl." He sighed. "Don't worry, you'll get your reward soon enough…soon enough…"

With that, the screen turned off. Sonic and Shadow shared a moment of silence.

"You really think this will work?" Shadow asked his blue-look-a-like.

Sonic shrugged. "Why wouldn't it? Eggman has to keep his word."

"He isn't really known for THAT, Sonic!" Shadow exclaimed with much sarcasm.

Sonic shrugged once more. "Perhaps you're right. But for now, we have to go along with it—it's the only way to get Tikal back."

Shadow nodded. Good. The conversation went as planned. Before they arrived, they came up with numerous codes and meanings so then if Eggman was bugging them, he still wouldn't suspect a thing. Like if one said 'I need a vacation', he would mean, 'we need to take what is needed and get out of here before anything happens.' In this conversation, Shadow meant would their one fake chaos emerald work. Since the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Tails had made numerous fake yellow chaos emeralds, and had given one to each person in case it was needed. And right now, that time was needed.

To their surprise, when the doors opened, it revealed a long metal hallway, rather than Eggman himself. Shadow shrugged, and walked down it, Sonic at his heels.

The hallway seemed to go on forever, and Sonic couldn't take the silence.

"Shadow…this may seem random…but…" the blue hedgehog trailed off.

"But what?" Shadow asked, keeping his eyes on the dark aura in front of them.

"But…was the hallways on the ARK like this? Long and…cold?"

Shadow froze. "That IS random and I don't see the point in answering, but, yes. The ARK did have hallways like this one. When walking down them, I used to be scared, and I wanted Maria by me at all times…" the ebony hedgehog smiled at the thought.

Sonic listened intently. Seeing that his friend didn't say anything, Shadow continued.

"It was always funny, though. To get to the restroom, you would have to go through a hallway like this one. In fact, to go to any of my favorite places, besides the kitchen, you'd have to walk through a hallway like this one. I would always stay close to Maria, scared that we would run into monsters or one of the professor's experiments when we went into the darkness, but Maria told me that all of the professor's experiments never went out of control…but I remember that one day when the Artificial Chaos went out of control. I had to help get rid of them. But I was older then, and much less afraid of these hallways," Shadow informed.

Sonic nodded. "Wow…did you have a lot of adventures on the ARK?"

Shadow nodded in response. "Plenty…but Maria was there to help me through all of them…she always told me never to be afraid…she once told me the story of a young boy, and how he gave up on trying to figure out his mystery…the meaning of that story encouraged me a lot…" Shadow kept the time of when she had told him to herself. It wasn't too long ago, and Shadow still kept that story fresh in his mind.

"Did Maria tell you a lot of stories?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, many. She told me one about Stone Soup, too. And then there was the one about the young girl…" his voice trailed off.

"The young girl?" Sonic repeated.

Shadow nodded, and then told the story, "Once there was a young girl, who had very few friends, but she loved them all. The only problem was, they weren't always there to play with her, and she would often get lonely. Then, one day, her grandfather gave her the cutest little friend ever—one that she could even raise herself! She got to name it, and take care of it and everything! Life went well…until it was time for him to learn to walk and talk. The little friend wouldn't do any in fear. Feeling like hope is lost, the girl ran to her grandfather, asking what to do. Her grandfather told her a secret—"

"What was that secret?" Sonic interrupted.

"I was getting to there. Anyways, her grandfather told her a secret: If you don't give up on your friends, they will never give up on you. Feeling hopeful once more, the little girl tried to teach her friend to walk. He succeeded! It had taken a while, though, and already it was time for bed. As the girl put him in his bed, her friend gave her the biggest surprise of all. He said 'thank you'," Shadow ended.

"Wow…that's a neat story…" Sonic commented.

Shadow smiled. "It's a true story."

Sonic's eyes widened. "It is!"

Shadow nodded. "Yep. The little girl was Maria. And her friend was—"

"You," Sonic said, astonished.

Shadow nodded. "She used to keep reminding me that story as I grew up."

As Shadow looked at his friend once more, he saw his emerald eyes full of interest and amazement. He had to stifle a laugh. Even though Sonic was a teenager, sometimes, he had the heart of a child.

Finally, they arrived, and the metal doors opened, revealing a large computer room, and in the corner in a small cell was Tikal.

Bravely, Sonic and Shadow stepped out of the dark hallway.

"Hello, you two," Eggman greeted, walking over to them. "I suppose you will now give me what I want, won't you?"

Shadow cast Sonic a glance, and then held out the bag. Eggman smiled greedily, and took it with one swipe.

"Thank you, you two have been very helpful in my quest," the doctor informed, taking the bag over to his desk.

"Don't mention it," Sonic murmured, rolling his eyes.

Shadow tried to conceal his excitement. "Now, you got what you want, so, give us our half of the bargain, doctor!"

Eggman smiled. "Very well…I'll give you your side of the bargain!"

As he said that, Sonic noticed where the fat man was. The doctor stood by his control panel, near a button. Taking a wild guess, Sonic looked below them. A square panel…putting the two together, the hedgehog gasped.

Eggman laughed, and pushed his pudgy finger on the button. And then, it all happened too fast. In a flash, the floor beneath the two hedgehogs dropped open, but as it did, Sonic grabbed Shadow and threw him behind, barely missing the fall. Once Shadow landed on the ground, it was like time had stopped, and then resumed once more.

"SONIC!" he cried, as the blue blur fell from view.

Eggman laughed. Shadow ran towards the opening, where he last saw his friend. To Eggman's pleasure, the panel came back up before he could jump down to rescue his friend.

"SONIC!" he called again, kneeling on the ground, hands feeling everywhere for a way to lift the panel.

Eggman shrugged. "Sorry, too late."

Shadow froze as those words hit him hard. Slowly, he looked up, crimson eyes flaring like fire and his ears flat against his head.

"Where is Sonic?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Eggman stroked his mustache. "Oh…he's somewhere down there…"

Shadow clenched his fists. "Tell me where he is…"

"Oh, now why would I tell you that?" Eggman asked.

"Because if you value your life, you will!" with that, Shadow lunged towards him, and before Eggman could react, he had him by the collar, in the air.

"You will tell me where Sonic is, or else I will destroy you!" Shadow exclaimed through clenched teeth.

Eggman gulped as his round eyes looked into Shadow's. He could promise that then that those irises were like a fire.

"Shadow, stop!" Tikal yelled.

Shadow's head snapped around.

"Drop him, now!" Tikal commanded.

Eggman looked back and forth between the two, and slowly, he saw the fierce flame in Shadow's eyes leave.

"Are you going to be a murderer for such a silly reason? Shadow, we can find Sonic! Do not worry about that! And do not go off killing him because he is torturing you! You must ignore Eggman's comments! They are like an animal trap! Once he lures you there, you are right were he wants you to be—a murderer! Do not let him do that to you!" Tikal exclaimed.

Finally, Shadow let go of the doctor. Eggman looked up, fearfully at first, but then smiled.

"Fools…you should've killed me while you had the chance…" he informed.

"No," Shadow's response startled the mad scientist.

"What?"

"I have no regrets for not destroying you. Tikal was right. If I had, then I would be lower than you ever were—and I would have been a disgrace to Maria," the ebony hedgehog stated.

Eggman frowned and stood up. "Oh well. Never mind that. At least I have you all where I want you…" he smiled, and suddenly, his hover craft came from what appeared to be no where, and he jumped in.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

Eggman laughed, and bushed a button, suddenly, the door in which Sonic and Shadow had entered, opened, and there stood millions of robots.

_So that's why the hallway was so long! _Shadow thought. _So it could contain all those robots! _

Eggman laughed again. "Have fun getting out of here—ALIVE!" With that, the selfish, good-for-nothing doctor flew away.

Shadow gritted his teeth and took a defensive stance. When he was about to charge, he heard Tikal calling him.

"Shadow! Get me out of here, first! I'll help!" she informed.

The ebony hedgehog nodded, and ran to the controls, searching for the one to unlock her cell. Once he pressed it, he looked behind him and was relieved to see Tikal free. She immediately ran over as the robots started filling the entire room and started to move in on them.

"Now what?" he asked.

"I'll see if I can find a way to get out of here," Tikal answered, sitting in Eggman's chair and typing at rapid pace.

"But what about Sonic?" Shadow inquired.

Tikal thought for a moment. "I'll see if I can find where he is right now," she answered.

Shadow nodded. "I'll take care of these creeps." With that, the ebony hedgehog turned around and began doing numerous homing-attacks.

……….

Sonic heard his friend's cry as he fell. He didn't know how long he fell, but he felt relieved when he hit the bottom.

"Ow…that hurt…" he grimaced. Suddenly, he froze.

"Where…am I?" he asked himself, standing up. It was like…outdoors. He could feel and smell the fresh air…yet, he knew he was inside. Or…was he?

"Hmm…" Sonic muttered, taking a step forward. He froze. Wait a minute…the grass…it's…hard? Sonic knelt down and laid his hand on it. It felt as cold and hard as steel!

The blue hedgehog was perplexed. Just what was going on here? Sonic stood up, and felt a drop on his nose. He looked up and felt another drop. Soon, it was raining. But…instead of it feeling wet, it felt dry like…sand. It looked like normal rain drops, but it felt completely different.

As he looked to the sky, there wasn't a cloud! Sonic furrowed his eyebrows as his mind started to unravel. What was happening? Why were things suddenly not making sense anymore? Well…what was he going to do, you ask? What he would normally do. Run.

He trampled on the steel grass and made his way to the forest ahead. Another thing weird happened. He wasn't going anywhere! Instead, he felt like he was on a treadmill, and yet…everything moved by him as if he were normally running. What was going on?

Soon, he came upon the forest. As soon as he stepped in there, he felt his blood rushing to his head as if he were upside down…and yet, he wasn't! Sonic felt for the trees. Once he laid his hand on one, he instantly pulled away. They felt like icebergs! Sonic looked at his hand. He saw his gloves on…and yet, whenever he felt something, he couldn't feel his gloves!

Feeling confused, he fell to his knees. Suddenly, without his say, the world started to turn-topsy-turvy as if he were rolling down a hill like a child. He wasn't moving anywhere! Why did things suddenly feel these complex ways? Why wasn't anything making sense? …why was he even asking questions if he didn't know the answer? Suddenly, Sonic found himself asking questions about questions…and even questions about those questions. His thoughts collided with each other until they made no sense at all. The world around him kept rolling and rolling.

Suddenly, a song began playing around him. It was as senseless as the rest of this creepy place. Sonic decided he could keep himself from going crazy by counting how many lines were in the song. It didn't take very long. There were only five. Well…why not try to remember the words? It was hard to make out, but he was able to hear it.

_Mommy wants a chocolate cake! Abracadabra! Round and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows! I am so sorry! All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!_

Soon, he tried standing up, and found himself falling into the sky. Finally, he landed on soft sand…but when he opened his eyes he was laying on ice! He quickly stood up and instantly stuck his arms out for balance…but none was needed. For some reason, this ice felt like…grass.

He walked ahead, and suddenly, he tripped over…nothing! He started rolling and rolling, colliding with things he couldn't see, feeling opposites. The song started to get annoying as it repeated those five lines over and over again. And just when he thought things couldn't get any weirder, he started to not know which way was up and which way was down. He started to not remember anything. He started to loose his trust in tasting, seeing, feeling, smelling, and hearing.

Sonic the Hedgehog started to loose his grip on what was real, and what wasn't.

……..

"Man…how many of these guys are there?" Shadow panted. Quickly, he started homing-attacking more and more. "Hey, Tikal! Any luck?"

When the echidna didn't answer, he ran over to her. "Hey, Tikal. Anything?" he tried again.

"S-shadow?" She began.

"What?"

Tikal looked at him worried. "There's a whole bunch more robots out there…and plus…we're locked in. There's no way out."


	3. The Beginning of a New Challenge

Sonic didn't care anymore. Things were too confusing. Everything went from end to end, and yet, he wasn't going any where. Everything was the opposite, yet…everything wasn't.

He didn't care about all the cuts he had. He pretended not to feel them. Why not? Everything else in this place wasn't making sense! Why should he? Suddenly, the world forced him to roll. The blue hedgehog collided with more and more things that he couldn't see. He smelt things he couldn't see. Heard things that didn't make sense. He tasted things he never knew.

Everything was crazy. And to Sonic, so was he.

………

Shadow fell to his knees. How much longer did he have to fight? How longer COULD he fight? He turned to Tikal.

"Tikal! Please say you've figured something out by now!" he said as a robot punched him.

"Fortunately, I have, Shadow! Be ready!" she turned around in her chair and gasped, covering her mouth. She wanted to cover her eyes.

Shadow knew what she was surprised about. His wounds. There were many of them. As he weakly pushed his arms out to lift himself up, he felt a laser on his back. He stiffened for a minute. Suddenly, it was like his mind shut down, and he lost control of everything. Shadow fell limp.

The last thing he remembered was Tikal, crying, "SHADOW!"

……..

"Tikal…Tikal…Tikal, wake up!"

Tikal sat up straight on her stool. Her emerald eyes looked around her, and she went back to sulking again.

"Oh, c'mon, Tikal. You got to stop acting like this!" Amy urged.

Tikal didn't say anything. Instead, she just stared at the ebony hedgehog in the bed in front of her.

Amy sighed. "Tikal…he's going to be all right. You'll see."

Tikal took a deep breath, the horrid events still stuck in her head. It had only been two days ago when Shadow and Sonic came to rescue her…and here they were, in the hospital…still not awake.

She remembered when Tails, Knuckles and Rouge had come. Poor Knuckles and Rouge…they were so confused about everything. They made it safely back, but Sonic and Shadow were unconscious.

The doctors were puzzled about their wounds…and had been busy for a while. They hadn't been able to give the results about their specific injuries just yet, but they were to do that today.

Tikal sighed, looking at Shadow's face. He looked so peaceful…and yet…so weak.

She cast a glance at the bed across from Shadow's. Amy followed her gaze. Tikal could feel the grip Amy had on her shoulder tightened when she saw her hero. Tikal looked up and saw her biting her lip. She was trying to stay strong. With that thought in mind, Tikal knew so must she. But…her heart just crumbled when she saw who was beside the blue hedgehog. Tails.

The poor fox didn't know what to think when he found Sonic in Eggman's basement. He hadn't said anything to anyone since...it probably hurt him a lot to see the person who was like an older brother to him; that was the only family to him, hurt. And yet…that was what Shadow had felt when he saw Maria die.

Tikal smiled despite her tears. Even though they didn't get along, Tails and Shadow had so much in common.

Suddenly, the doctor walked in the room. Tikal stood up.

"Do you have the results?" she asked.

The elderly man nodded, and looked at the clipboard in his hand. He turned to Sonic, and began.

"The first one, Sonic the Hedgehog, has a dislocated shoulder, and a broken wrist. Nothing real significant rather than a bunch of severe cuts, which will heal in time."

Amy felt relieved about that, and so did Tails.

"And the second one, Shadow the Hedgehog, has a few broken ribs, and a badly sprained ankle. He, like Sonic, has a bunch of severe cuts, which will heal in time…but…"

Tikal's heart fell. "But what?"

The doctor took a deep breath. "He seems to be in a coma."

"WHAT?" Amy and Tikal exclaimed.

"Now, our reports aren't sure about it. It's like a cross between a coma and a deep sleep. We aren't sure what it is, exactly, but we'll be sure to treat it." With that, the doctor left the room.

Tikal sat back down on her seat, her mind in a whirl.

"No…how could this happen…?" she kept muttering.

Amy couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Tikal. He'll be okay…you'll see," Amy encouraged.

Tikal looked up. "Oh, Amy…I hope you're right…" With that said, Tikal let all her sorrow out in tears.

………..

Shadow looked around him. He was being led through a metal hallway, with two GUN officers in the front and back. Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. Where were they taking him?

When he was going to raise a hand to tap one of the soldiers, he suddenly felt metal around his wrists. He looked down at them. Handcuffs.

Shadow started shaking them; trying to get them off. What was going on? Why was he being taken with them? _Where_ was he being taken?

One of the soldiers in front of him looked back at him from hearing the clanking metal. Shadow shuddered under the harsh gaze. What had he done to be treated like a criminal?

_You tried to destroy earth._

Shadow looked around. Where did that voice come from?

_You tried to destroy mankind._

It was only then that the ebony hedgehog actually listened to what the voice said.

_You tried to destroy innocent people!_

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. _That was then! I've changed! _he thought.

_You cannot hide from the fact that you are, indeed, a murderer, Shadow._

_What? _Shadow thought, disbelievingly.

_You helped the Black Arms destroy Westopolis, and other cities of the world._

_But the citizens left! They had evacuated before they could get hurt! _Shadow exclaimed.

_But what about the GUN soldiers? You killed them when you wanted to help your father…_

_He's NOT my father!_

_If he is not your father, then whose DNA were you created from?_

Shadow could not answer that question.

_You were created to be a killer, Shadow. You were designed to destroy._

_No, _Shadow though firmly. _The professor created me to destroy the Black Comet and the Black Arms! _

_But was that your original destiny?_

Once again, Shadow found himself cornered.

_You were created to be a murderer, Shadow, and you shall die as one._

As the voice finished its last statement, Shadow found himself shoved into a metal room. A heavy door shut closed behind him. The ebony hedgehog felt uneasy. That voice…could it be right? Was he a…murderer? Was that why he was here? To…be executed?

Much to his dislike, Shadow's assumptions were confirmed when he found his metal handcuffs bound to a single pole in the room. He tried to break free, but it was no use. The onyx hedgehog looked behind him, and his heart fell.

_That voice was right…I am going to die as a criminal…_Shadow thought warily as one of the soldiers pointed a gun at him…

…………

Sonic weakly opened his eyes. Where…was he? He couldn't remember anything. All he could remember was…that horrible place. A place where nothing made sense. In fact, to him, still nothing made sense. His mind was in a tangle. All he could remember was his name and that idiotic song.

_Mommy wants a chocolate cake! Abracadabra! Round and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows! I am so sorry! All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!_

In fact, it still haunted him. But that didn't matter. Nothing mattered, anymore. Nothing made sense. Why would anything matter if it didn't make sense?

His eyes looked around. Strange…he didn't remember blacking out in a white room…and covered with strange sheets…but then again, he didn't remember anything. Things were so confusing. Everything was confusing.

Hearing, tasting, feeling, seeing, smelling…he couldn't trust his senses. He couldn't trust what he saw…he couldn't enjoy what he heard…he couldn't cuddle close or back away to what he felt…because it didn't make sense. Everything was opposite…yet everything wasn't.

He heard a voice. "Sonic! You're awake!"

Was he? Was he really awake? Had he even been out? Had he been asleep? Had he…

A pink hedgehog came into view. Who was she? She looked familiar…it didn't make sense. Why couldn't he remember? It triggered something in his brain, and yet…it was so frustrating! Why didn't things make sense?

"…Sonic?" the girl looked at him strangely.

It was at that moment that Sonic decided to give up on trying to sort things out. It was hopeless. Everything was a mystery to him…he couldn't remember what was up, and what was down. He couldn't trust his feelings, couldn't understand what he saw. It was time to let things happen and unravel by themselves…whether or not they made sense…

……..

"…Sonic?"

Amy didn't like the far away look he had in his eyes. He looked like he hadn't even met her! Like…she was a stranger to him.

"Sonic…are you okay?" she tried again. No answer. He turned his head and looked away, at the ceiling.

Tikal noticed the concern in her friend's voice. "Amy…what's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Sonic…he looks at me like he doesn't even know me!" the pink hedgehog informed, turning to look at her friend. "I don't know what's wrong! He won't talk!"

Tikal stood up, brushing her tear-stained cheeks with her hands. Maybe it was time to examine some eyes…

She walked over to the blue hedgehog. She knew her footsteps were loud enough to hear, but he seemed to not hear them. He seemed to not even know she was there.

She cleared her throat, but still the blue hedgehog didn't look at her.

"Sonic…" she called, standing by his bed.

His ear twitched. So he heard her.

"Sonic…look at me…" she commanded gently. No answer.

"Sonic…" she tried again. "Sonic…what's wrong with you?"

His ear twitched. He heard her…but why wasn't he responding?

"Sonic…look at me…"

Finally, she firmly grabbed his chin, turning his head to face her, and stared into his emerald green eyes. For some strange reason, he didn't pull back. It only took a few seconds before everything flooded into her, and she understood everything.

Slowly, Tikal let go of his chin. Her eyes stared ahead as she groped around for a stool behind her. Finally, she found one and sat on it without taking a single glance away from the wall.

"Tikal? What did you see? What's wrong with Sonic?" Amy asked.

Tikal turned to look at her slowly. "A-Amy…don't be hurt when I tell you this, but…I think Eggman has done something to them…"

Amy didn't like the tone her friend was using. "Tikal…you're scaring me…what did he do?"

"To Shadow…I'm not quite sure yet, but to Sonic…" her voice trailed off, and Amy could only hold her breath.

"Amy…Sonic knows nothing…understands nothing…remembers nothing…he's…he's like a three-year-old that only knows his name, but…" Tikal struggled to let it out.

"But what…? He's…worse?" Amy asked, dreading what her friend may reveal to her.

"Yes! He doesn't understand anything! He's lost and confused…not remembering anything! The only thing he remembers is his name…and something else, but I didn't catch that…" the apricot echidna replied.

Amy looked at the blue hedgehog that seemed to not hear what they were saying, and still stared at the ceiling.

"I…I don't understand…" she said.

Tikal sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hands. "That's just it, Amy…I don't, either…and what doesn't help at all…Sonic doesn't, as well…"

Amy sighed. "Why couldn't Tails stay?" she muttered.

Tikal sighed as well. After hearing their conditions, he said he was going to his workshop to get some rest…and he looked like he needed it. He hadn't slept for days—his bloodshot eyes were proof.

Tikal nodded. "But he needed rest, Amy. It's up to us right now."

The pink hedgehog finally nodded in agreement. "But…what should we do?"

"I'll tell you. We can't let Sonic stay here—THAT'S for sure. We're going to have him stay at—"

"MY HOUSE!" Amy chimed in, smiling, despite her worries.

Tikal stared at her a moment, shocked by her sudden yell of opinion. Then she continued, "Okay…Sonic will stay at your house until we get him back to normal."

Amy nodded, but then frowned. "What about Shadow?"

Tikal sighed. "He'll have to stay here," she said, her eyes sadly looking at the peaceful form of her love.

Amy sensed her friend's troubled mind. "Don't worry, Tikal. I've said this once, and I'll say it again: he's going to be okay—you'll see!"

The apricot echidna turned to her friend with tears in her eyes.

"You're right, Amy. You're right."

………..

"So…did you find anything yet?" Knuckles asked the white bat typing away at the laptop in front of her.

"Not yet—be patient, Knuckles! Just leave it to me!" Rouge responded, her eyes never leaving the screen.

The air was tense around the two as they awaited what they would discover. After hearing about Shadow's condition, they immediately had gotten the feeling there was something more to this…

It was Knuckles' idea, after all. Logic had a grip on his mind as he had thought that a single laser shot from a robot wouldn't make him go into a coma. Rouge insisted it was because he was severely hurt, but Knuckles was firmly convinced there was something deeper. Tikal said he was on his hands and knees—Shadow had strength left in him to fight. A single fire of a laser shouldn't have all of a sudden made him slip into a coma.

That's when they got the idea to hack into Eggman's plans and see what the original idea was.

"Oh…stupid computer! Load faster!" Knuckles cried, his fists shaking at the laptop in rage.

"Calm down, Knuckles! It will load when it loads!" Rouge retorted in her cooing voice.

"Easy for you to say…" the red echidna muttered.

Finally, the document came up.

"What….what kind of plan is this?" Knuckles asked skeptically.

"Sh! Be quiet—I'm reading!" Rouge interrupted.

Knuckles took a few glances that switched from the bat's emotionless expression to the screen of the laptop. Finally, he said, "Well, can you read it out loud, please?"

The bat rolled her eyes, but began anyway.

"8/22

Breakfast: Sausage, egg, and cheese croissant; ½ of a glass of orange juice, ½ of a glace of milk.

Comments: It is very different to be eating healthily rather than eating normally…but I know it is for the better. The croissant wasn't bad…orange juice a bit tangy…and the milk was refreshing…"

Her voice trailed off as an awkward silence settled in.

"…Eggman's on a DIET?" Rouge exclaimed in surprise. Knuckles' eyes rolled back as so did his body.

When she heard the thud behind her, she whirled her head around to see the fainted echidna on the ground.

"…Knuckles?" she called.

No answer. The bat shrugged, and turned back around.

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but I think Eggman is finally coming to his senses," she informed, exiting out of the document and searching for the right one.

When Knuckles awoke (which was a considerably long time later), his voice came out slurred.

"Oh…what happened…?" he murmured.

No answer.

"Rouge? You still there?" he asked, standing up.

To his surprise, the bat wasn't in the chair. Another document was up on the laptop, but the white bat was no where to be seen.

"Yes, I'm here," her voice suddenly informed.

Knuckles looked behind him to see the bat sitting in a comfy velvet purple chair. She seemed relaxed…but what puzzled the red echidna was that she seemed a little…tense.

"Why are you over there?" he asked. "Did you find the—"

"Right document?" Rouge finished for him. The bat made a notion with her head towards the laptop. "Read for yourself."

Knuckles furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but sat down.

"—But read it out loud!" the sudden exclamation made him jump a little, but then he relaxed. There was something wrong with this…

As he was about to read, Rouge also made another statement, "It's a passage from his diary."

Knuckles didn't need to be told twice. He immediately began reading.

"Today, my brilliant plan will unfold when Sonic and Shadow come here to rescue Tikal. It was all planned so cleverly—if I do say so, myself. Kidnapping that echidna was too easy. In fact, everything is becoming much easier, now; now that my foes are developing feelings for one another. Stupid creatures. Do they not know that feelings lead to love; and love leads to another weakness; and another weakness leads to an easier target to destroy; and an easier target to destroy leads to victory for me? Fools. I can only laugh at their stupidity. But I must remain focused…I have to make it obvious to Sonic about the trap door underneath them…but I must be careful. I do not want Shadow to find out and be the one dropped into my Rain of Confusion Chamber—it would ruin my plan. Sonic must be the one to go in there—so then Shadow may be injected with the…"

Knuckles' voice trailed off. Slowly, he turned back to face Rouge, who was staring at him with the same fear in her eyes. Both of them knew what was to be done, and raced out of the apartment. Neither of them said anything to each other as they didn't stop running even when they were out of the apartment building and onto the sidewalk. They had to make it to Tails' workshop—and wasted no time in doing so.

If they did, the life of a valuable friend could be no more.

………..

This was…different.

Sonic resisted the urge to look around and take in the vivid colors of the living room to Amy's apartment. Why? He was afraid of finding out the colors weren't vivid at all…just some ugly black or grey color—like they had in that horrid place.

Instead, he seemed to find interest staring at the sling his arm hung in…along with the cast his wrist was trapped inside. He was puzzled. Why did he need these…things?

He tried to control his shaking hand that reached up to touch the sling. It felt…soft. But another question entered the hedgehog's mind. Was it supposed to feel soft? Did it even look soft? What was 'soft' supposed to look like?

And then, that female voice spoke again. "Sonic, what's wrong?"

Sonic looked up as more questions invaded his brain. Was his name 'Sonic'? Well, of course it was! That was something he knew! But…did what he know was true? What if his name wasn't 'Sonic' at all? What if it turned out to be something different? What if—

"Sonic, look what I got!" the pink hedgehog said in a sing-song voice.

Without thinking, the blue hedgehog looked up.

Amy kept herself from shuddering. The stare he gave her seemed so…lifeless. She decided to ignore it, and suddenly held out a stack of cards to show him. Unfortunately, she stuck her arm out fast.

A little too fast.

Sonic, in surprise, fell back. The only problem with the fall was his arm. A sudden and sharp pain rushed through him, causing him to open his mouth to scream….but nothing came out. He instantly grabbed for his arm and pulled it close to him, cuddling close to himself.

Amy was shocked by Sonic's sudden act, and stepped back. She expected the blue hedgehog to scream…but he didn't. His mouth was open as if he were, but no sound came out. By seeing his eyes shut so tight, she could tell he was in pain. Deep pain.

Instinctively, she dropped the cards, and knelt down beside the blue hedgehog, reaching out to touch him….but he pulled away, his mouth open to scream. Amy was puzzled, and just knelt there for a minute, staring at the panting hedgehog that she knew…well, she wasn't so sure about that, now…

"Sonic…are you okay?" she asked quietly.

No answer. Amy's eyes searched for any physical answer. She got one. Sonic's ears were laid back against his head. Flat. Amy knew what that meant. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I didn't mean to scare you…" she informed gently.

Sonic didn't reply, but instead, just sat there, curled up. Amy's heart broke at how lost he looked. He looked like he was a three-year-old orphan…who was a long way from 'home'.

She sighed again, and boldly looked into Sonic's eyes.

"Sonic…I don't think Eggman brainwashed you. I think Eggman somehow locked your grip on reality somewhere deep down inside you…but there is hope. You know why?" Amy gave a small smirk. "Because I'm going to find the key."

Silence lasted between them.

For a split second, Amy felt like those brave words of hers just went to waste. But as she looked into Sonic's eyes, she thought she heard his voice in her head say:

'_Go for it.'_

Amy smiled, and thought, _'I will.'_ Once again, silence lasted. Suddenly, it was all shattered as the phone rang. Sonic jumped in fear, but stayed put. He learned his lesson about his arm. Amy jumped in surprise as well, but then got up to answer it.

"Hello?" she called into the receiver.

"Oh, Amy! I'm so glad you answered!" it was Tikal, and from the sounds of it, she sounded worried. Real worried.

"Why, what's wrong, Tikal?" Amy asked, her senses on full alert.

"Amy…its Shadow…he's—"

The line went dead.


	4. Another Maria

"Tikal…Tikal?" Amy called into the phone, her hand gripping it as hard as she possibly could.

"Tikal! What's wrong with Shadow?" the pink hedgehog called again.

No answer.

Amy looked around frantically. Suddenly, she gasped as her eyes fell upon the telephone cord.

It was out of the outlet.

Someone was in her apartment.

She gripped the phone harder in fear. _Now, now, Amy. You're jumping to conclusions. How could someone possibly be in your—_her thoughts were interrupted when she saw that the door to her apartment was open. _That's how!_ In a flash, Amy put the phone down and turned around. Her eyes widened.

"SONIC!"

She instantly ran over to the fallen blue hedgehog's side. He was unconscious. Amy found her heart beating rapidly in fear. Someone was in her apartment. Someone had knocked Sonic out…someone could be trying to…

Amy stood up, looking around on full alert. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop her voice from shaking.

"A-all right! Come out! I know you're here!" she yelled.

No answer.

The pink hedgehog bit her lip. She was already tense…now who came to make her even more nervous? _Oh…please don't let it be—_

A sound.

Amy rushed to the bedroom without any second thoughts. Looking around, she found the window open. _Are they gone?_

Cautiously, she walked over to the window, and peered outside at the busy streets of Station Square. She looked down, and barely caught the sight of someone rushing around the corner. She couldn't see much of it…but she saw that it had tan fur.

_Well…at least he's gone…_she thought, pulling the window down.

Quietly, and more slowly, she walked back into the main room.

_Why were they here?_ She hugged herself to stop her heart from beating so fast. _And who is 'they'?_ These thoughts left the girl puzzled.

When she returned to the living room, she found Sonic waking up. She stopped herself from rushing over, knowing she'd scare him. So instead, she came up to him slowly.

"Sonic…" she called. "Are you okay?"

Sonic sat up slowly, looking like he was in deep thought. He then closed his eyes tightly, as if he had thought too hard.

Slowly, Amy knelt down beside the blue hedgehog. She waited until he opened his eyes again. Once he did, he only stared at the carpet. Amy furrowed her eyebrows. What was she to do? Somehow, she had to get Sonic back to normal. _Oh, if only I knew what was wrong with him! _As that thought struck her, she was instantly reminded of Shadow.

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped. "I totally forgot!"

But…Amy looked at Sonic, biting her lip. She couldn't leave Sonic here all by himself…but she had to go see what was wrong with Shadow!

Amy sighed. Things were so complicated…wait a minute! Amy could feel an idea coming her way. What about Cream?

Without thinking, she rushed over to the phone. She could only hope she didn't scare Sonic; luckily, she didn't. She picked it up to call her friend, but was surprised when there wasn't a buzzing noise.

Amy slapped her forehead with her hand. _Stupid! You forgot to plug the phone back in!_ Hastily, she put the cord back in its place, and dialed Cream's number.

To her relief, it was answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" a young voice called through.

"Hey, Cream! Can you come over here to do a favor for me?" Amy asked.

"Sure! Let me ask my mom; hold on one moment, please!" the pink hedgehog could hear the phone being put down.

Minutes passed by, and Amy found herself nervously tapping her fingers against the countertop in her kitchen.

Suddenly, she heard Cream's voice once more. "My mother said it was all right for me to come over. Me and Cheese will be right there in a few minutes! Bye, Amy!"

"Bye!" with a grateful heart, the pink hedgehog put the phone down.

……..

Amy ran down the crowded sidewalk a few minutes later. She had so much on her mind at the moment—and she was ever so thankful that Cream could take some of it off of her. She could only think of the possibilities of what might be wrong with Shadow. Could he have woken up? Could the doctors have figured something out about him that might be fatal? Could he be…

The pink hedgehog shook her head. _That's thinking too far, Amy! _She told herself. _He couldn't be dead…could he?_

As the thoughts grew more intense, so did the August heat. Amy found herself sweating.

"Phew! Am I getting an exercise!" she exclaimed to no one in particular.

_Amy! You're changing the subject!_ She thought. _You need to think of the task at hand! Like: why was someone in your apartment?_

Amy slowed down to a walk as those thoughts began taking over her mind.

_Who was in your apartment? Why was the cord pulled out of its socket? Did whoever it was not want you to find out what was wrong with Shadow? Why did that person knock Sonic out? _

Amy furrowed her eyebrows. _But the main question is: who was in my apartment?_ The pink hedgehog looked up, hoping to look at the sky, but instead she found she was nearing the hospital. _No time to think about that, now! I'll be a detective later—right now, I need to figure out what's wrong with Shadow!_

With that thought in mind, she picked up her pace and rushed into the white lobby. Without waiting for anybody, she just walked up to the desk.

"May I help you?" the hedgehog behind the desk questioned. She was cream in color, with glasses that lightly rested on her nose. She looked at Amy with eyes that said 'I-could-really-care-less-about-all-the-injured-people-here-I'm-just-here-for-the-money.'

Amy kept her disgusted reactions to herself and answered politely, "Yes, I'm here to see Shadow the Hedgehog. What room is he in?"

The pink hedgehog wasn't prepared for the answer the nurse gave her.

"Oh, that one? Yeah, about him: he isn't here anymore."

Amy just about choked in surprise. "WHAT? Was he moved to another hospital or what?"

The cream hedgehog shook her head. "Nah. A couple of people just said they'd rather have him stay at their place instead—they sounded confident."

"They SOUNDED confident?" Amy was enraged. "What kind of hospital is this?" she exclaimed. "What hospital lets people off the streets waltz in here and take the injured home because they SOUNDED like they could take care of them?"

The cream hedgehog sighed. "Miss…"

"No! You have no excuse for this! Who is your manager? I demand to talk to him now!" Amy shouted.

By now, everyone in the lobby was staring at the scene taking place in front of them.

"Do you have the authority to demand such an order?" the cream hedgehog ask casually.

Amy narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth. "No. But I've got a reason. In case you didn't know, I am Amy Rose."

The hedgehog's olive green eyes showed a slight hint of recognition. "THE Amy Rose?"

"Yes. The one and only Amy Rose. And the hedgehog who you carelessly let others take away was Shadow the Hedgehog. The Ultimate Life Form," Amy still had her teeth clenched.

The cream hedgehog closed her eyes as her heart fell in dread. She knew what she had done. "And I'm guessing you have your piko-piko hammer?"

"You bet—and I ain't afraid to use it," Amy gritted.

The hedgehog sighed. "Second room to your left on the top floor."

"Thank you," Amy said as politely as she could.

Just as she was about to leave, the cream hedgehog called after her, "And my name is Iza, okay?"

Amy turned around, surprised. Did this girl really want to be fired?

As if Iza read her mind, she informed, "And no, I don't want to be fired—but hey, I can't tell lies. I prefer to be honest and accept my consequences. Its just the way I am."

Amy smirked. Maybe that hedgehog wasn't so bad after all…even if she didn't have a heart for those who were hurt.

"Are you just going to stand there or consult with my boss?" Iza inquired.

Amy let out an impressed breath, and shook her head, walking back up to the cream hedgehog.

"No…" she said. "I don't think you deserve to be fired. But I would like to know why you let Shadow go so carelessly."

"Isn't it obvious?" Iza asked. "I don't really care about those in need. I know it may sound mean—but hey. I am who I am. And helping people…isn't really my thing."

Amy furrowed her eyebrows. "Then why do you work here?"

"I'm forced to work here."

Amy was shocked. "Forced? Why?"

"It's a long story…but to make things short, let's just say that my dad thinks he has the best ideas for me. Pffh! Yeah right," Iza huffed.

"I've heard that a few times…" Amy admitted. The pink hedgehog paused a minute before she questioned, "What would you like to do for a living?"

Iza shrugged. "Eh, anything really. I don't really have a dream job. All I really want is to be happy with a good husband and live a calm life."

Amy nodded, thinking about her hero. "Yeah…"

A silence settled, and soon, Iza was fiddling with a mechanical pencil. Amy watched the pencil in her newfound friend's hand while in deep thought. Where was Shadow? What had happened to him? Was that what Tikal was calling about?

Amy furrowed her eyebrows and said, "Who took Shadow?"

"Well, if you gotta know, it was a red echidna and a white bat…I think a two-tailed fox was with them as well…I know his name from somewhere on TV., but I can't come up with it right now…" when Iza looked up, she found the pink hedgehog gone.

She looked left and right, but didn't see Amy anywhere. Shrugging, she went back to fiddling with the mechanical pencil in her hands.

………

"Is he okay?"

Tails sighed. "For the thousandth time, Rouge, yes! He's fine!"

Rouge sat down, trying to settle her nerve-wrecked nerves (sounds silly, doesn't it?) but that wasn't so easy…especially when one of your best friend's life is on the line. Silence settled, and the fox thought he could finally rest his tired self. He fully laid himself down on the sofa, closing his eyes for a nice nap…

"How is his pulse?" Rouge suddenly asked.

The fox jolted awake. Then, annoyed by the bat's constant questions, replied, "His pulse is fine…"

Rouge nodded, leaning back in her chair. She had a billion other questions…like how was his fever doing? That made her nervous when she found out…and it only made Tikal want to stay by his bed all the more…and she currently was. Rouge once again tried to relax…but her nerves were in a tangle, and she felt that if someone made even a little noise…she'd go ballistic.

Unfortunately, someone did.

Knuckles came calmly walking back from the kitchen, holding a glass of orange juice. Because of Rouge's sensitive hearing, she heard his footsteps. And you can guess what happened.

"AH!" Rouge screamed, sitting up straight.

The sudden cry startled Knuckles, and he screamed as well…dropping his glass. Tails was abruptly pulled from his sleep by the two screams and lifted his head only to be splashed by orange juice and have an empty glass hit the floor beside him. Annoyed, he looked around, and found both the echidna and bat screaming in shock.

Sighing and muttering to himself 'why me?' he stood up. He took in a deep breath before yelling at the top of his lungs….

"BE QUIET!"

Immediately, both shut their mouths.

"Now, both of you! Settle down! I will not tolerate this! You will NOT scream in my workshop! Repeat, NOT scream in my workshop! Understood?" the fox exclaimed.

Both animals nodded in fear of the sudden loud voice.

"Now…as for the orange juice…" the fox looked down at himself, and then glared at Knuckles.

The red echidna instantly held up his hands in defense. "It was an accident! Really!"

Tails sternly marched towards the kitchen. Knuckles' eyes widened as he realized what the fox was going to do….

…or rather, have HIM do…

Rouge seemed to get the same vibe. She smiled, trying to sound sorry. "You have my sympathy…"

Knuckles shot her a death glare. "Be quiet."

Rouge stuck her tongue out arrogantly as the two-tailed fox returned, carrying a towel. He threw it at the Master Emerald Guardian, who caught it with ease.

Knuckles stared at Tails, awaiting the word for his doom to begin.

"Start cleaning."

……….

Shadow closed his eyes, awaiting the loud bang and the immense pain. He knew why he was here. It was because of his iniquities, his…evil doings. Everything he did that wasn't right…it was all going to be paid for right here, right now.

Shadow sighed. He could remember what he told the Commander of GUN when he had tried to kill him…

_If what you say is true…then I will gladly accept this fate._

Shadow knew that he had caused all that pain…all that suffering of so many people…and it hurt him. It ached him. It caused his heart to just tear, knowing he was the cause of it…

…and yet, there was forgiveness…

Everyone forgave him. Some more easily than others. There was still fear of him…and he hated it. More than anything, he wanted to be trusted. He wanted to…

…_belong…_

…wait a minute…that voice…again? No. It sounded different. This voice sounded…pure.

_Who is it this time?_ Shadow called out in his mind.

No answer.

Shadow felt puzzled. Who was it that time? Without thinking, the black hedgehog opened his eyes and looked behind him. The GUN officer's hand was shaking. He was…hesitating.

Shadow sighed. _Come on…just get it over with!_ He wanted to yell.

As if the officer had read his thoughts, he instantly straightened his hand, tightening his grip on the trigger…

"NO! STOP!"

Shadow instantly raised his face to the source of the voice. He furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement. It was…a human boy. As soon as he laid eyes on him…he was suddenly awed.

This boy was different.

Shadow could tell. He knew when he saw someone innocent. It was a…talent, you could say. To Shadow, he could almost see an aura around someone…depicting their personality. This boy's "aura" was just like…

…Maria's.

Pure…innocent…loving…caring…and yet, so firm and wise.

Shadow's thoughts were interrupted when the boy ran to one of the officers and whispered something in his ear. After hearing it, the officer thought a moment. Finally, he nodded.

The boy was given a burst of hope as he ran towards Shadow. Shadow wanted to tell the boy to get away from such a criminal, but he couldn't find his voice, surprisingly. So instead…he moved away.

Shadow instantly regretted it.

The look the boy gave him when he did that just tore his heart apart. The boy looked hurt and rejected. Shadow softened his eyes.

Finally, he could talk.

"Why are you here?" the ebony hedgehog asked.

The boy looked like he had a small sprout of hope. "I'm here to help you," he said simply.

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. "Help me?" The hedgehog looked at the officers and back at the boy. "How can you help me? And why do you want to help me?"

The boy took in a breath. "Let me show you."

Shadow watched as the boy suddenly reached out to him. He backed away. The boy looked hurt.

"Don't be afraid…I only want to help. I know what's best for you, Shadow," the boy informed.

Shadow's eyes widened in astonishment. "How do you know my name? And how do you know what's best for me? How does ANYONE know what's best for me?"

The boy didn't answer.

Shadow, feeling triumphant, was about to tell the little boy to go and get himself some ice cream or something, when the boy suddenly said, "Do you trust me?"

Shadow was startled by the boy's sudden voice. Finally, the question reached his mind. He narrowed his eyes and stared long and hard at the boy. "Why?"

"Do you trust me?" the boy asked again.

Hesitantly, Shadow braced himself. This might be the biggest mistake of his life. "Yes. I trust you."

The boy smiled.

"Then do not stop what I am going to do."

The boy reached out again, and this time, Shadow didn't resist. The boy let his hand fall upon Shadow's gloved hand. Shadow was truly awed. This boy…his touch was so gentle and yet so…strong.

The ebony hedgehog was so dazed by trying to describe everything, he didn't know what the boy truly ended up doing.

"Shadow…" the boy called.

Instinctively, the ebony hedgehog looked upon the boy…and immediately felt regret. Huge regret.

The boy had taken his place.

"What are you doing?" Shadow exclaimed, reaching out towards the chains that bound the boy to the pole.

"No."

The boy said it with such firmness, it made Shadow's blood run cold.

"You said you trusted me. In response, I told you not to stop what I was going to do. All must be finished before you can interfere," the boy responded in the same firm tone.

Shadow couldn't believe it. "No…but why? You didn't do anything! Why should you die in my place?"

The boy smiled. It was the same smile he gave before.

"One day, Shadow, you will understand."

Shadow shook his head. "No! I don't want to understand! I just want my crimes to be paid for with MY BLOOD! Not with some innocent persons! It's my crime; my punishment; my price to pay!"

"One day, Shadow…one day…" the boy repeated.

"NO!" Shadow shouted. He reached for the chains once more…but he was instantly pulled back by the GUN officers.

"What…?" he asked numbly.

"You heard the boy—no interference!" the officer commanded, holding Shadow back.

It wasn't too easy.

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Shadow kicked his legs wildly. "I WILL NOT HAVE ANOTHER PERSON DIE IN MY PLACE!"

The room fell silent.

The only sound to be heard was the sobbing of the torn ebony hedgehog.

"Not like Maria…please…don't do it…" Shadow begged. "Don't do it…"

The officers exchanged glances. They talked a while, and slowly brought Shadow back to the boy. They kept their grip on him, but allowed him to talk with the boy a little longer.

Shadow looked up, his eyes watery and his cheeks wet from his tears. He was surprised to find the boy crying, too.

"Shadow…I know you feel bad about Maria's death…but if only you could understand—"

"No," Shadow replied hoarsely. "I don't want to understand anything! I just want things to go how they are supposed to…"

The boy looked hurt. "Shadow…may I ask you just one thing?"

"Yes…" the hedgehog replied, his voice still sore.

"Will you be my friend?"

Shadow was even more touched…and angered. But somehow, looking at the boy, he managed to just say:

"Yes."

"All right, all right. Let's get this over with!" one of the officers exclaimed.

Shadow's eyes widened. "NO!" In an instant, he looked back at the boy.

All the boy did was smile.

Shadow couldn't take it. He looked at the gun in the officer's hand, and then back at the boy one final time.

Shadow closed his eyes as another horrifying sound of a shot echoed in his mind.

……….

Tails sighed happily. Ah, yes…sleep…it was appreciated. Not only by him, though. Knuckles and Rouge were asleep as well…Rouge on her favorite purple chair, and Knuckles on another couch in the room. They all were sleeping peacefully and quietly…

…until a certain apricot echidna burst into the room.

"TAILS! KNUCKLES! ROUGE! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH SHADOW!" Tikal exclaimed.

Simultaneously, all three animals suddenly and accidentally rolled off their couches and onto the hard floor.

Instantly, many complaints were fired at the frightened echidna.

Knuckles was the first to actually register what his ancestor said…

"Whoa, whoa, wait. What's wrong with Shadow?" he suddenly asked.

All three looked at Tikal. Her face was pale and her aquamarine eyes were wide with fright.

"He's having a seizure!"


	5. To be left alone, or to be joined

Amy found herself rushing down the sidewalk once more. _Stupid!_ She kept telling herself. _Why didn't it click before? I should've known Tails, Knuckles and Rouge would come to take Shadow to their place!_

The insults to herself kept coming, and finally, she just ignored them and rambled to herself to keep her busy.

_I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Iza wasn't that dumb after all! _Amy paused her thoughts. _Okay…maybe she doesn't use her brain that much, but hey. At least she handed Shadow to the right people!_

Another thought entered the pink one's mind as she slowed her pace. _But…why did Tikal call me? It couldn't have been because he was going to Tails' place…no, she sounded worried. There's something behind this…_

Sighing irritably, she threw her hands up in the air.

"WHY MUST I BE THE DETECTIVE TODAY?" she cried out into blue sky.

The people on the sidewalk just stared at her, surprised at her sudden outburst. Still staring at her oddly, they moved aside for her to get through. Amy ignored them, and continued making her way to Tails' workshop. But little did she expect someone to actually pay attention to what she said…

"Did someone say, 'detective'?"

Amy froze. She knew that voice…

"Oh, no…" with a roll of her eyes, she turned around.

"Vector, Charmy, and Espio…what are you doing here?"

"Easy! We're going to Moe's Coffee Shop!" Charmy informed, in his (annoying) high-pitched voice.

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Since when did you drink coffee?"

"Actually, it's not him. It's me," Vector admitted.

"But enough about us: what are you doing out here?" Espio wondered.

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that any of your concern?"

"Well, yes! If you are talking about a mystery!" Vector replied.

Amy stopped herself from answering. Well…she could use their help…after all, they were professionals…

The pink hedgehog stared at them: a crocodile, a bee, and a chameleon. Yep. Just about as professional as it gets.

But hey. What did she know about solving mysteries?

With a sigh, Amy let her arms fall to her sides. This could be the biggest mistake of her life.

"Well…if you gotta know, I'm going to Tails' place," she informed.

"Tails' place? What's so mysterious about that?" Charmy asked.

"It's not Tails' home! It's…" Amy paused. Should she really tell them?

"It's…?" Espio repeated.

The pink hedgehog sighed. "Okay, you guys come with me. I'll tell you along the way…"

…….

"Mr. Sonic? What's wrong?"

Cream looked at the blue hedgehog with expectant eyes. All he did was stare at the carpet. The rabbit almost shuddered whenever she looked into his eyes. They were so…lifeless. Unwilling. Undetermined. Nothing like the old hedgehog she used to know…

"Chao!" Cheese chirped.

Sonic jumped and looked up, wide-eyed. When he saw it was Cheese, he stared at the blue creature for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he went back to staring at the floor.

Cream sighed. "Mr. Sonic…why won't you talk? …can you talk?"

No answer.

The rabbit looked around, hoping to find something that she could do. Her eyes caught small rectangular shapes on the ground. Slowly, she bent down to pick them up. When she turned them over, she found they were…

"Cards," she said in recognition.

With a little hope, she picked up the rest, and turned them over so they were facing the right way.

"Wow…" she said in awe. "They have pictures on them…of us…"

For fun, she spread them out. Cheese hovered over her shoulder as she pointed to each one.

"Look! There's mommy!" Cream smiled. "And Tails!"

A shuffle. The rabbit looked over her shoulder. Sonic was in his same position, but he…moved? Shrugging it off, she went back to identifying her friends.

"There's me and you, Cheese!" she giggled. Cheese chirped softly, and Cream continued. "And Tikal's there!"

Another shuffle. Cream looked over her shoulder again. Sonic was still in the same spot and everything. But…why was he moving? She looked back at the cards a moment, pondering her thoughts. Finally, she came up with a solution. Cream looked back at the blue hedgehog behind her, and picked up the cards.

"Do you want to see them, Mr. Sonic?" she asked.

Sonic didn't give any sign of an answer. Not sure what to do, Cream finally decided she should just hold them out to him—and that was what she did. Sonic looked at the cards in her hand, and stared at them long and hard.

The picture on the top was of him.

"What's wrong, Mr. Sonic? Don't you want to see them?" Cream asked.

Slowly, Sonic looked up. Cream paused a moment.

"…do you want me to show them to you?" she finally asked.

Sonic changed his gaze back to the cards. Taking that as a yes, Cream put the one of him in the back, revealing the one under it.

It was Knuckles.

The blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes slightly. Cream switched the cards again.

Charmy.

No response from the hedgehog. Cream changed the cards again.

It was of Cream herself.

Sonic blinked a few times. He looked up at Cream, and then back at the card of her. He looked at the Cheese in the picture, and then at the real Cheese.

The two…they looked alike…why? There has to be some significance! Why was there a card of her?

"Mr. Sonic…?" Cream called.

Sonic didn't answer. There has to be some significance…there has to be…a reason…but what was it?

Cream was puzzled by the blue one's behavior. What was he thinking?

What the little one didn't know was that that picture triggered something deep down…if you were to picture what happened here, think of it as a giant black safe, with the only thing keeping it shut being a lock made of the toughest substances…and the lock gained an ever so small crack…

……..

Sleep…yes…finally…that was all that was on the two-tailed fox's mind. Actually, it was on two certain echidnas', and a bat's mind, as well.

After taking care of Shadow's seizure, and making sure the towels were lukewarm (Knuckles had a hard time understanding that it meant medium warm), they all wanted rest (but they preferred to think they 'deserved' rest).

And sleep was what they had, currently. They felt unsafe about leaving Shadow unwatched, so they put a motion detector in his room. If he started to have a seizure again (because of his high fever), then the alarm in the living room (where they were sleeping) would sound. But so far, nothing of that sort has occurred.

So far.

Unfortunately, they were unprepared when a certain pink hedgehog came storming in the house, followed by three surprised detectives…

"TAILS! KNUCKLES! ROUGE! TIKAL!"

Once again, they all accidentally rolled off their sleeping spots, and hit the hard floor. Surprisingly, one person didn't wake up.

"Five more minutes…" Knuckles murmured.

"NO! NOT FIVE MORE MINUTES! GET UP RIGHT NOW!" Amy raised her foot to kick the echidna in the side.

"But I don't want class to start right now! Can't we wait?" as if there were a pillow, he grabbed it and put it over his head.

Amy stared oddly at him. In fact, everyone did.

"Um…Knuckles?" Tails called.

"Go away!" the red echidna waved his hand. "Lemme sleep!"

Tikal sighed, and stood up. Just as Amy was about to scream at the red echidna, she raised her hand. The pink hedgehog kept quiet as they watched the apricot echidna awake him.

"Knuckles…as your father, I command you to get up right now!" Tikal ordered in the lowest voice she could muster.

"BUT DAD!" Knuckles cried in his sleep.

"No 'buts'! Do you want to let your clan down?" Tikal asked.

A pause.

"No…"

"Then get up!"

"…can't I have five more—"

"UP!"

"OKAY!" In an instant, the red echidna sat up strait, eyes wide.

Tikal smiled innocently, as if nothing happened. "So…how did you sleep, Knuckles?"

Still dazed, the red echidna had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. Horrified, he laid a hand on his head.

"Terribly…I had the scariest dream…" Knuckles began.

"What was it about?"

"I was a kid again…and my dad tried to wake me up…" Knuckles rubbed his head.

The others stared at each other.

Knuckles, finally not oblivious to the world, noticed Amy, Charmy, Vector and Espio for the first time.

"Amy…? Espio…? Charmy…? Vector…?" he called them by name.

"Yeah. Good morning, sleepy-head," Amy mumbled.

Knuckles cast her a glare.

"Now, now…let's not fight…" Vector intervened, holding his hands out between the two.

Knuckles and Amy turned around to face him, yelling simultaneously, "Who said we were gonna fight?"

Tails slapped himself on the forehead. "Nobody…now can we PLEASE set our priorities straight, here?"

Everyone stared at him oddly.

"Um…Tails?" Knuckles called.

"What?" the two-tailed fox inquired.

"English would be nice."

Tails rolled his eyes. "What I meant was that, Amy, Charmy, Espio, and Vector, what are you doing here?"

"To investigate a crime scene!" Vector exclaimed.

Now it was Amy's turn to slap herself on the forehead. "No, no, no! How many times do I have to tell you? THERE IS NO CRIME SCENE!"

"But you said—" Charmy tried to inform.

"What I said was that there is a mystery that needs to be solved—no murder, no theft—just a mystery—AND THAT MEANS NO CRIME SCENE!" the pink hedgehog cried.

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" the three detectives said in unison.

"Ugh…" Amy covered her eyes in despair. "Why do I have to work with these three gumballs?"

Charmy instantly buzzed forward. "Gumballs? Where?"

"My point exactly!" Amy threw her hands in the air.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…hold it!" Rouge called as she flew over and landed in the circle. "What 'mystery' are we talking about?"

"The one about Shadow!" Vector informed.

"Shadow?" Tikal walked up. "What mystery is there about Shadow?"

"Allow me to explain," Amy proposed. "Tikal, you called me a couple hours ago, telling me about something wrong with Shadow…what was it and where is he now?"

"Shadow's in the room upstairs, the third one to your left," Tails explained.

"And the reason she called you," Knuckles began, joining everyone who was huddled in a sloppy circle in the living room. "Is because…"

"Is because what?" Espio dreaded the answer.

"Shadow is poisoned."

Shadow felt numb, to say the least. The shot kept ringing through his mind, haunting him and torturing him…and that voice was back, too.

_Look what you've done. How could you? How could you let an innocent kid die in your place? You truly are a murderer._

_No…_Shadow thought. _He wanted to take my place…there was nothing I could do…_

_Was there? Was there truly nothing you could do? You LET him die. How could you stand there? Why didn't you stop him?_

_I…_Shadow couldn't think. This voice…won't it leave him alone? What does it want from him?

_You could've resisted—you could've fought against him and told him that this was your price to pay…_

So what? So what if it was? What difference would it make? If he had stopped the kid, then the boy would be…hurt. He couldn't stand seeing the boy unhappy. So he let him do what he wanted to do. And that meant taking his place.

_And that brings up another question: why in the world did that kid die for you, anyway? What are you worth? A penny?_

Another good question. Shadow found himself having to dig deeper into his thoughts for a way to make this voice stop—but there was nothing that he could say that the voice wouldn't turn around to bite back.

_Face it, Shadow. You are nothing. You will never be anything. The kid was stupid to have died for you! He died for a worthless being!_

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. _No! I'm not a worthless being! Stop! Stop it, now!_

_Why? What does it matter? I'm only tormenting nothing, aren't I? So what does it matter?_

_I am worth something! I am valuable! _

_Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure. I believe you._

_It's the truth! Why do you deny it? Why do you keep haunting me? _Shadow wanted to run anywhere but here.

_Because there is nothing to save you from me! Face it. You are a worthless creation. You were created to be a murderer—and that is all you will ever be. A coldhearted annihilator._

_If I AM such a worthless creation without a purpose, then why did the professor create me to destroy the Black Arms? _Shadow felt triumphant.

_That was then. You are without a destiny, now. You are nothing. You fulfilled your purpose—to be a murderer._

_How can I be a murderer if I saved Earth?_

_You destroyed your family! You destroyed your father…and a whole civilization—and what about Central City? You almost killed the president!_

_That was then. I am a new person, now. I am Shadow. And I am fulfilling my promise to Maria—to protect earth._

_Very clever, Shadow. You keep telling yourself that you're important—go ahead. Lie to yourself. Or…you could face the truth. And that is that you are a failure._

_No. Maria would never want me to believe that._

_Would she? Would she want you to lie to yourself—or would she want you to know the truth?_

_She would want me to know the truth, which is—_

_That you are nothing. Face it, Shadow. You are a lost cause._

Shadow wanted to fight back; he wanted to defend himself, but he could find nothing that would make what the voice said false. Maybe the voice was right. Maybe he is…nothing.

_Just…just go away!_ He finally thought.

_Are you sure?_

_POSITIVE! LEAVE ME ALONE!_ Shadow wanted to cry out.

_Fine…have it your way…_

As if it were magic, Shadow felt the hands that had held him back disappear. He felt everything vanish…and with that, came him falling to the ground. But Shadow didn't bother to get up. He was too miserable. _Stupid voices…why don't they just go away?_

As Shadow laid there, he grew angry at the voices. Angry at himself. Angry at almost anything. The only last wish he had was that things would just leave him alone. Nobody understood how he felt. Nobody. He was all alone…

And then he heard it.

It sounded so soft…so quiet, he could barely hear it. But he did, and it was beautiful. The moment the tune greeted his ears, he was lost in its majestic melody. At first, there was no voice singing…but he soon heard it. He soon heard the beautiful voice sing in perfect rhythm with the music. And for then, all Shadow could do was listen. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear the words, it was so soft. But he caught little words, and for that, he was thankful.

**...and I believe in you…**

Shadow was touched. Whoever was singing this song…trusted him. Believed in him.

**..there's a place inside your heart that's begging for truth…**

Who was singing? Why are they singing? A million questions ran through Shadow's mind…but somehow, they seemed to answer themselves. Whoever was singing, was doing a great job.

_Who's singing? _He finally thought.

And just like that, the song stopped.

_Wait! Don't stop singing! Don't go away!_ Shadow fell back into dread. Why did everything have to go wrong? Why did—

"Shadow…"

_All right…who is it, now? _Shadow thought.

"Shadow…don't you remember me?"

Well…yes…no…maybe so…

"Shadow…open your eyes…"

It wasn't that hard to open his eyes, but the tension in his stomach just made him hesitate. But when he did, he gasped. Instantly, he sat up, eyes wide with amazement.

"You!"


	6. Decisions

"Mr. Sonic...what's wrong?"

Cream had asked the question many times, but the blue hedgehog didn't respond. Instead, he was still staring at the picture and then back at the rabbit. In his mind, the same thought kept coming to him: _There has to be a reason why there is a picture of her! What is it?_

Cream was still puzzled about his puzzlement. Finally, she just put the picture in the back, and let the next one show.

Unfortunately, it was Eggman.

Sonic's eyes widened.

"What is it, Mr. Sonic?" Cream inquired. It wasn't until she tilted the cards her way, that she finally understood. "Oh…its Doctor Eggman…" She looked back at the blue blur who was still looking at the cards with wide eyes. They were filled with terror.

"Mr. Sonic…what's wrong with you? Doctor Eggman is usually the least person you are afraid of!" Cream said.

Sonic didn't pay attention. _He…he did something…I remember him…but from where? Why doesn't anything make sense? Why are there pictures of things I know I know but I can't remember?_

Before he knew it, the song came back to haunt him.

_Mommy wants a chocolate cake! Abracadabra! Round and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows! I am so sorry! All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!_

For a split second, Sonic paused. Many things came flooding back into his mind. What had he been doing? Trying to understand the world around him? Didn't he already establish that he wasn't going to? Yes…he must…he must forget the confusing pictures; forget everything…just like he had before...

_No more trying to understand, _Sonic thought firmly. _No more._

"Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked, putting down the cards.

_No more. No more._ With those words repeating in his head, he relaxed his eyes, and just stared. _No more. _

"Mr. Sonic…you're scaring me…please talk to me…" Cream begged.

_No more_.

But even then, Sonic had only pushed the matter of the cards in the back of his head. He would never forget the thought of the significance, no matter how hard he wanted to; even if his mind was still saying:

_No more._

………..

Shadow couldn't believe his eyes.

"But…how could you…I…" the poor black hedgehog couldn't even speak he was so amazed.

The boy smiled warmly.

"Let's just say I learned a trick my dad taught me," he replied.

Shadow brought his hand up to his head. "Is your dad a magician or what?"

The boy laughed. It was good to hear such a joyous laughter, despite the previous grief. "You could say that."

Shadow thought for a minute. "Do you…like your dad?" he finally asked.

"I love my dad, Shadow. And he loves me, too," the boy answered.

Shadow looked down. "I wish I felt the same with mine…"

The boy remained quiet, almost as if he were letting Shadow think through the comment he just said on his own.

Finally, the black hedgehog spoke again. "The voice was right…perhaps I am worthless…"

_You've got that right._

Shadow closed his eyes. _Go away, _he thought.

_I'm afraid I can't. Not when you gave me such a great entrance right there._

_What are you talking about?_

_You finally agreed with me. Now I can torment you all I like._

_I still don't follow._

_Look at it like this: you, without knowing it, gave me the privilege to bug you all I want. Plus, you pushed away your friend, too. Now he won't interrupt me._

_What are you—_but when Shadow opened his eyes, he found the voice was right. The boy was gone.

_He thinks you're worthless, too._

_If he did, then why did he take my place?_ Shadow thought, standing up.

_You think you're smart, don't you?_

_Correction: I **know **I'm smart. You just don't believe me because you still think I'm trash—which I'm not._

_Do I smell lies? What did you say about five minutes ago? 'The voice was right…**perhaps I am worthless**."_

_That was then. I've changed my mind, now. I am something. And I am facing the truth._ Shadow crossed his arms over his chest.

_Or so you think. What if you're wrong? What if I'm right? _

_What if you're deceiving yourself?_

_Are you kidding? I **am** deception. _

_Then how can I know if you're saying the truth?_

_You can't. It's all a matter of trust._

_Trusting deception? I don't think so._

_What if there is no other thing to trust in? Your friend is gone…there's nobody left for you… (then again, who wants to be friends with a failure?)_

**_I'll say it once, I'll say it twice—_**Shadow stopped. Was someone singing the same thing he was thinking?

_What's the matter, Shadow? Can't come up with a good come-back?_

Shadow didn't bother. He could promise he heard someone singing the same thing he was thinking.

_What are you doing? Pay attention when I am talking to you, Shadow!_

Shadow ignored him. The singing…he had heard it before…it was the same voice that sung to him earlier!

_Shadow! Don't ignore me! Don't you want to know the truth?_

The ebony hedgehog nodded. _But not the way you are going to tell me…_

_What other way is there?_

…**a softspoken answer that won't break your spirit…**

_That way! _Shadow thought.

_Are you kidding me? That's nothing. It's only the wind. Don't deceive yourself!_

_NO! _Shadow thought firmly. _YOU stop deceiving ME!_

…**I wait for the day when you'll stand up and say…**

The ebony hedgehog could feel it in his bones. This melodic voice's song was strengthening him. He could feel it. It was similar to the feeling of when he was turning in his super form, except…this felt like it was warming him, as if he had been in a cold, raging blizzard his whole entire life, and finally was able to find a warm shelter. He felt like he…

"…belonged…"

The boy again! Shadow couldn't have been more happier. His heart was instantly filled with joy at the sound of these comforting voices.

_Stop listening to them, Shadow! They're deceiving you! _

_No they're not, _Shadow thought.

_Then what ARE they doing? _

_They're telling me **the truth**._ Once again, Shadow heard the voice sing the last two words as he said them.

_You sicken me. Every single one of you. But I'm not done. I will be back. I'm only trying to help you realize the truth, Shadow…_

_Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure. I believe you._

There was a pause, and then…

…_I hate you…_

It all happened like the snap of two fingers. Both voices left, until it was only Shadow and the boy. The silence lasted for a very long time.

But finally, Shadow spoke. "That was interesting."

The boy smiled and laughed, but then said, "I'm proud of you, Shadow."

Instantly, the black hedgehog was caught off guard at his friend's words.

"Huh?" he inquired. "Proud of me? Why?"

"You made the right choice: to not listen to Deception and only concentrate on truth. It's a very difficult thing—it will get harder. Deception will never give up. You will always be spoken to by it, but you must never give in. Whatever Deception says is wrong. Understand?" 

Shadow slowly nodded. "Yeah…but why do you care so much?"

The boy chuckled. "If only you knew, Shadow," he said.

"If only you knew."

………

"SHADOW'S POISONED?" Vector exclaimed.

"Who poisoned him?" Charmy asked.

"Who else do you think besides Eggman? That creep is lower than low!" Amy informed.

"I don't know…it doesn't seem like something the doctor would do…" Espio said thoughtfully.

"Those were my exact thoughts," Rouge agreed.

"But how could it NOT be Dr. Eggman? He was the one who made the robots!" Knuckles informed.

"But someone could have snuck in and put a poison in one of the robot's guns!" Vector suggested.

"Are you crazy? That's way too far-fetched! Who would go to THAT limit just to get rid of Shadow?" Knuckles argued.

"What? It was just a suggestion!" Vector defended.

"Yeah, a weak one…" Rouge commented.

While the others still debated about the possibilities, one particular echidna remained quiet. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her worry for Shadow out of her mind…nor could she stop blaming herself. How could she not? It was her fault that Shadow and Sonic had to come and fall into their traps!

_No, Tikal. Stop telling yourself that, _she thought, shaking her head. _Shadow would never want you to believe such a thing. _

And she was right. But the thought kept creeping into her mind, until finally, she made a decision. As quiet as she could, she left the arguing group, and made her way towards the second floor. Once there, she went to the third room to her left, and entered quietly. She had to stop at the sight of her love.

_Maybe it was a bad idea to come up here, _she thought. _Now I'm going to feel worse than I already am._

But something in her mind told her to stay. Tikal wasn't sure if it was her conscience, or just an urge, but she stayed anyway. Quietly, she sat upon a stool, and watched Shadow sleep.

_He looks so peaceful, _she noted. _He seems happier than he was a few minutes ago._

Tikal felt a strange tug at her heart. 'Now is the time,' it seemed to say. 'Don't let it go.' And she wouldn't. Tikal reached out and gently took hold of Shadow's hand. Without thinking, she rubbed her thumbs, as if she were massaging it, against his bare hand. They had taken his gloves off after his seizure—Tails' instructions.

There was the tug, again. 'Don't let the time slip away,' it was whispering. 'Say it before it is too late.'

"Shadow…" Tikal began, sounding hoarse. She cleared her throat. "I know you probably can't hear me, but…if you can, then I want you to know that…I'm sorry…for having you run after me…"

The echidna blinked back her tears.

"I should never have taken what you were doing the wrong way…" Tikal shook her head, remembering her exact feelings. "I was such an idiot. Why couldn't I realize that you were only trying to make me happy? And now look where my blindness has led us! To this…"

This time, she couldn't stop the tears. She let them flow; she let the knot in her stomach get bigger until she felt like she could no longer breathe.

And then, it was like a miracle happened.

Suddenly, Tikal felt Shadow squeeze her hand gently, almost tenderly. She gasped.

"Shadow?" she inquired.

After hearing no answer, she mentally slapped herself. Shadow couldn't reply—not in his sleep…

"Tikal…" he mumbled.

…or maybe he could!

"Yes, Shadow?" Tikal responded, now kneeling beside the bed.

"I…" A pause.

"Yes?" the anticipation in her stomach boiled, untying the knot that used to be there.

"…I forgive you."

Tikal froze. She was so stunned, she could barely speak. "I…thank you, Shadow…" she whispered.

The ebony hedgehog tossed his head to the side, his eyes still closed. His hand still had its tender grasp on her own, but now he started to massage hers as she had done his. Tikal stared in awe at him. She had never felt so much love for him than then at that moment. Silently, she stood up, and placed Shadow's hand back on the bed. She then bent down and gently kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Shadow the hedgehog…and I always will…" she whispered, before standing back up.

As she walked silently out of the room, she knew that because Shadow was still sleeping, when he woke up, he probably wouldn't remember what had happened just a few minutes ago. But to Tikal, that didn't matter. Either way, she knew she was forgiven, and she knew what she must do in return.

She was going to find the cure.


	7. Answers Lead to Unanswered Questions

Shadow stared into the empty white void. His crimson eyes showed he was in deep thought. Everything was starting to hit him at once.

_Is this a dream?_ He thought. _It has to be! But…if I am, then why haven't I awakened yet?_

Reality was suddenly overcoming him.

_I'm…so confused. Last thing I remember, I was…in Eggman's base…rescuing Tikal…but Sonic was there, too. Did we make it out? What—_

The ebony hedgehog quickly stopped himself.

_Slow down, Shadow, _he told himself. _Take things slowly…you went to Eggman's base with Sonic to rescue Tikal. At Eggman's base, Sonic fell…somewhere and Tikal was freed. There was no way out, but soon she said that help was on the way…and then…pain…_

Shadow paused. Finally, he continued.

_After that…blackness. But then, I was being led down the GUN hallway, about to be executed for all the wrongs I had done…and then the boy…he came, took my place, and died. But then…he came back. And that voice…_

Shadow shuddered. He knew it would be back; the boy said so. Shadow then sat up straight. Speaking of which…where _was_ the boy?

As the ebony hedgehog stood up, a bunch of other thoughts climbing into his mind. _That means…if this IS a dream…then the boy isn't real…the voice isn't real…everything's not real! This is all…a mixed-up reality._

Shadow frowned. _So…this is a dream. I'm sleeping…and I can't wake up._ His frown deepened. _That could be a problem._

Suddenly, his ear twitched. Faint talking. It sounded like the conversation was only between two people. One, Shadow could easily distinguish. It was the boy. The other…he couldn't tell.

_Why is the boy over there?_ He thought, following the voices. _And who is he talking to?_

Shadow's question was answered when his eyes fell upon the other speaker. His blood ran cold and he stopped walking.

"Black Doom…"

At hearing of his name, the black alien turned to his biological son. "Hello, Shadow."

"What are you doing here?" Shadow demanded.

"You were the one who beckoned me here," was his answer.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your friend might have the ability to answer that question…" Black Doom lifted his hand towards the boy.

Shadow looked expectantly at him. His eyes showed regret and sympathy—the reason, Shadow didn't quite know. It seemed like an eternity before the boy finally spoke.

"Your fear…" was all he said.

"My…fear?" Shadow didn't quite understand that either.

The boy sighed. "My father always told me that what you fear shall come upon you." He closed his eyes. "It seems that is true."

Shadow immediately turned his eyes to his father. "But I don't fear you, Black Doom. It doesn't make any sense."

"It seems you have knowledge of this 'fake' reality," Black Doom stated.

"How do you know?" Shadow inquired.

"We are inside your mind, Shadow."

The ebony hedgehog crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to let any emotion show. "I know that; I also know that this is all just a dream and that…" he turned to look at the boy, "…what you did changed nothing."

The boy froze as the comment struck him hard.

When he didn't speak, Shadow continued, letting his arms fall to his sides. "And that means that my debt is still unpaid."

"Correct," Black Doom replied.

"But that also means that you are really not here, Black Doom. Neither is that voice—or any voice I have heard. Everything is a folly!"

Silence. To Shadow, it seemed like his voice echoed in the white abyss. Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes like hours, and hours like days. And then finally, Black Doom spoke once more.

"Then, my son, it seems that you have no debt to pay after all."

Shadow thought for a minute. No…he still had a debt to pay. All those lives that he had ended…no, there was still something he had to do in return for that. But…that was only said in the dream. _NIGHTMARE, actually,_ he corrected himself.

Nobody said anything. It was like the whole world had stopped what they were doing, and waited for him to say something or do anything. But he did nothing.

And then, it was like someone answered for him. It was the song again.

**I'll say it once and I'll say it twice: that you're life was worth the price. Paid for you…paid for me. And I believe in you, and I know you'll find…**

The song…it sounded like it was coming from behind him! Shadow turned around.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

She stood there, as beautiful as he could remember. Her golden hair and those unforgettable bright blue eyes…

In a minute, all the answered and unanswered questions were swept away as he stared at her. Shadow tried to find his voice, but it felt like finding a needle in a haystack. In response, he could only whisper her name.

"Maria…"

……………..

Tikal walked down the stairs, her hand sliding down the rail as she did so. Everyone who heard her turned her way.

"I thought you went up there!" Amy said with a smile on her face.

The apricot echidna didn't answer. Instead, she walked right past all of them, and to the door.

"Tikal…where are you going?" Tails wondered.

The girl stopped when she had her hand on the doorknob. She turned around, and said firmly, "I'm going to go find the cure for Shadow."

"What? Are you crazy—"

Tikal didn't let Knuckles finish. "Perhaps I am, but that is only because while Shadow is fighting the battle for his life, we are standing here doing nothing!"

The group exchanged glances. They knew she was right.

"But Tikal…we don't even know the full story yet!" Tails informed.

"That is a consequence of our laziness!" The apricot echidna exclaimed.

"When a woman's right…a woman's right," Vector said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Well, then what do you want to us to do?" Rouge asked.

"I think we should each tell our sides of the story," Tikal let go of the door knob and walked towards the group.

They nodded.

About half an hour later, everyone was sitting around the living room except for Vector, who paced in a thoughtful way. Charmy, who was utterly bored, found it fun to mimic him.

"Well…what do you make of it, Vector?" Espio inquired.

"The only thing I can think of is that we have to get that cure," Vector (and Charmy) said.

"We know that—but what about the intruder in my apartment?" Amy asked.

"It could've been somebody Eggman hired," Tails shared.

"Or maybe, it's not Eggman who's behind this at all!"

Everyone stared at Rouge with skeptical glances.

"What?" the bat asked. "If you ask me, it makes perfect sense: what me and Knuckles found didn't fit what Eggman would plan out usually. And the incident at Amy's apartment doesn't add up either."

"But what about when he kidnapped me—and when I was rescued! I saw him with my own eyes—who else could it have…" her voice trailed off as the same name ran through all of their heads.

"Oh no…" Amy murmured.

Espio closed his eyes. "I'm afraid our fear can't change the facts…"

Rouge nodded, and said the concluding sentence that none of them wanted to say:

"It's not Eggman after all…it's Metal Sonic."

…………………

Cream sighed in despair. She had never been more bored in her life. All Sonic was doing was sitting there…staring. To tell the truth, the stare he gave gave her the creeps. But besides that, she was worried. She had no idea what was going on, and what was happening, she could tell wasn't good.

Her brown eyes, somewhere in her thoughts, somehow landed upon the cards. _Perhaps I should try once more…_ she thought. Obeying it, she got up from her kitchen stool, and grabbed them.

Cheese followed her as she walked cautiously over to Sonic, as to not startle him. Taking a slow step by step, she finally came to a halt in front of him.

She cleared her throat before saying, "Mr. Sonic?"

No answer.

For the first time in a long time, Cream felt a frown spread on her lips. _But I can't give up…_ she thought. _No…I mustn't. Something must've happened to Mr. Sonic that made him forget everything! _Suddenly, the solution dawned on her. _I'll teach him! Yes! That's it! I'll teach him just like I did Emerl!_

A feeling of sorrow suddenly overcame the rabbit. Flashbacks flew threw her mind, and before she could do anything about it, she felt hot tears start to slowly descend down her cheeks. Cream closed her eyes, sobs quietly escaping her lips. Without thinking she hugged the cards in her hands. Truth be told, she wanted to hold _something_. Or better: have _someone_ hold her.

And then, it was like a miracle.

Cream was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She gasped at the familiar, strong, comforting touch. The touch that always said: "everything will be all right no matter what." The touch that, for as long as she had remembered, always gave her courage when it seemed that there was nothing left. The touch that forever promised hope. The touch that belonged to--

"Mr. Sonic," Cream whispered, staring at the blue hedgehog.

Sonic stared back, unsure of what he was doing—or what he was thinking at that matter. He had seen the small tears that fell from her eyes, and in response, he had felt a feeling he didn't quite know. Before he knew anything, his nose had begun to feel numb, and his view was getting clouded. And yet…he knew it had something to do with that rabbit. The same rabbit in the card that yet stood in front of him.

In truth, he wasn't quite sure what he did. Before he knew anything, he was on his knees with his left hand on her shoulder. He was baffled by his action, and instantly the numbness in his nose went away, and his soul no longer felt like it was being ripped in two. Sonic stared at his hand on the girl's shoulder, and considered a new thought that popped into his mind.

The fur on her shoulder was soft...like it was supposed to be…?

Cream, on the other hand, felt a burst of excitement.

"I knew whatever happened didn't get rid of your personality!" The rabbit smiled. "I knew it!"

She caught herself before she hugged him. If she did so, she would cross the line and have to start all over again. So instead, she merely smiled.

Cheese was smiling as well, flying ever so faithfully beside Cream. Both of them watched their blue friend for a minute, to see what he would do.

But Cream saw a flicker of recognition in Sonic's green eyes as he stared at his hand, and then a look as if he were contemplating a difficult math problem.

_He's learning already!_ She thought excitedly. _I can't wait to tell Amy all that's happened!_

But little did the young girl know that the next time she would talk to her pink friend was when a matter of life and death lied in her hands.

**Crystal: Crappyness. Pure crappyness.**

**Krystal: For once, I agree with you.**

**Crystal: (thinks) I think I'm going to do a LOT more editing on the next chapter...**

**Krystal: You'd better! You've GOT to make up for that horrible mess of letters that you wrote!**

**Crystal: (nods) I will. It's guaranteed.**

**Krystal: I'm so sure.**


	8. Things Begin to Take a Turn

"Hello, Shadow," she greeted.

The ebony hedgehog didn't know what to say. He just stood there, stunned. Maria's beautiful blue eyes looked deep into his crimson ones.

"It seems that this girl has found a place in your heart," Black Doom stated.

Shadow turned to his biological father. "This 'girl' was something that you never were! She was family!"

"Shadow!"

The Ultimate Lifeform was shocked to hear Maria's voice scold him. He turned to face her.

"You mustn't talk to your father that way!" she said.

Shadow felt hurt. The Maria he knew would never have said that! Then, it struck him again.

"This is all just a dream," he muttered sadly.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and he turned to see that it was the young boy. The kid was looking at him as if he knew everything Shadow was feeling: pain and confusion. And it was at that moment that the ebony hedgehog knew exactly what he wanted.

"I want to wake up."

…………….

Cream walked back into the living room, some flowers from one of Amy's vases in her hand. Ever since the previous incident, Sonic had been reaching out to feel the different textures all around him. She was excited because every time he noticed something felt different, she would see that flicker of recognition in his eyes once more.

"Mr. Sonic, I've got…" her voice trailed off when she noticed he wasn't in the living room. "Mr. Sonic?" she called. She rushed over to the bedroom, Cheese on her heels. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw him standing by the window, touching the red curtains.

"Mr. Sonic…" she called again. No answer. The cream colored rabbit then walked over and tapped his shoulder. He jumped, and turned to face her. Cream held out her flowers.

Sonic stared at them for what seemed like a century. Then, he reached out to touch them. He let out a small gasp when he realized how soft they were. He let his eyes behold the beautiful ruby surface of its petals…when suddenly, it was like someone had switched on the lights in his mind.

"Rose…" he murmured.

Cream could barely believe her ears.

"Rose…Amy…Amy Rose…" he repeated.

Cream almost went into a state of shock. Sonic then turned to her, and said, "Cream…"

By this time, the rabbit's shock had vanished and was replaced by excitement. Sonic turned to see Cheese, and said his name as well. Then, he repeated it. "Amy…Cream…Cheese…Tails…Knuckles…Tikal…Shadow…" everything seemed to be hitting him at once.

He said their names once more. "Amy, Cream, Cheese, Tails, Knuckles, Tikal, Shad—" his voice stopped as he suddenly remembered more. Flashbacks ripped through his mind of the beginning of their adventure. He remembered Eggman's base, falling, and then being in that terrible room…and then that song.

_Mommy wants a chocolate cake! Abracadabra! Round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows! I am so sorry! All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!_

And then…but Sonic didn't get that far, for suddenly, he felt his muscles tighten. Cream's smile faded as she saw the hedgehog fall to the ground, shaking. She stepped back as he twisted and turned violently

"Cheese! Get the phone!" she cried

The chao wasted no time. He flew over to the kitchen, and fluttered down to wrap his tiny arms around the cordless phone. His yellow wings flapped as hard as they could, but it was no use. The phone was too heavy! Determination outlined his face as he tried even harder—this time, succeeding.

He hovered upward, and then burst towards the bedroom. Cream grabbed the phone from him a little too quickly, for he soon found himself stuck to the phone as she began dialing 9-1-1. She then brought the phone up to her ear, not noticing that she still had her chao stuck to it. But Cheese was too dizzy and exhausted to really care. Soon, a male's voice was heard as he asked, "Hello?"

"Please help me!" Cream cried. "I don't know what's happening to him!"

"Whoa, slow down, miss. Tell me what's going on," the man said calmly.

"It's Sonic, sir! He's shaking and I don't know why!" Cream explained.

"We'll send an ambulance right away! Where are you?"

Cream proceeded to answer his questions, and then finally, he said, "All right. Thank you, Cream. We'll be over as soon as possible!"

"Thank you, sir!" she replied, before there was a click.

Cream looked at the hedgehog on the ground, and realized he had stopped shaking. She didn't exactly know what happened or why, but all she knew was that hopefully everything was going to be all right.

But it wasn't.

**Crystal: I know, I know…short and lame. Again.**

**Krystal: You need to slow down and get a good idea to write about.**

**Crystal: That's the way it was in the beginning…this chapter, I'd say is the turning point.**

**Krystal: The turning point is one of the most important parts of the whole story! WHY IS IT SO DARN SHORT?**

**Crystal: (eats more Valentine M&M's, then talks with mouth full) It's special. **

**Krystal: --'**


	9. For the Worst

"This is the place?" Vector asked.

Him, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Charmy and Espio stood exactly where Sonic and Shadow had earlier that day. A metal building with absolutely no windows stood in front of them, as if daring them to see if they could find their answers.

"We came here to do a job, and we'd better do it," Rouge informed.

When they were at Tails' apartment, they had discussed the whole situation. Metal Sonic was behind this; they knew it. He was hiding a master plan of some sort and it was up to them to get rid of it…whatever _it_ was.

"But I still don't get it!" Charmy exclaimed. "What about the tan guy who was in Amy's apartment?"

"We think he's an accomplice of Metal Sonic to get his dirty work done. If you ask me, Eggman didn't know what he was thinking when he created that monster," Knuckles replied.

Espio took a step ahead. "Well, there's no time to waste. Let's go."

The group walked up to the building, and stopped in front of the metal doors. A female voice spoke up.

"Who desires entrance to Dr. Eggman, the greatest scientist of all time's lair?"

"Give it up, Metal Sonic! We know its you!" Charmy yelled.

"CHARMY!" the whole group cried.

The bee put his hands over his mouth. "Oops…"

A familiar laughter filled the air. To tell the truth, it sent shivers up and down the others' spines. It was a cruel, robotic laugh that seemed to have a cold tone to it. And then, the voice spoke.

"I must say, you animals are not as dumb as you look…"

"Why I oughta—" Rouge gently put a hand on the fuming red echidna's fist. Knuckles stayed put, but was absolutely ready to put that robot in a junk yard.

A chuckle. "Well, I shouldn't let you guys just stand out there in all this heat, should I? What kind of host would that make me be?" Another laugh, and then the metal doors opened. "Come right in…"

No one moved. But finally, Rouge stepped forward, followed by Vector, then Espio, then Charmy. Knuckles came soon after, with Tails bringing up the rear.

Once all of them were inside the elevator, the door behind them shut quickly, leaving them in darkness.

"…Charmy?" Vector suddenly called.

"Y-yes, Vector?" the little bee answered.

"Let go of my nose."

Charmy laughed sheepishly, slowly flying off his friend. He couldn't help that he was afraid of the dark…

But that would have to change very soon.

Finally, the lights flickered on in the elevator as it began its upward travel. No word was said between anyone. They all stared in front of them at the metallic door that sealed them in. No one had any idea what they were getting into; nor did they know what really was planned for them. All they knew that it was time to put some trash where it belonged.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped, and its doors opened to reveal a long metal hallway.

When no one moved yet again, Metal's voice suddenly started to speak.

"Go on. I don't bite."

"Sure," Knuckles grumbled with sarcasm as he stepped out of the lift first.

Everyone followed the red echidna down the long hallway. It seemed like a century until they finally reached the end.

"This is it…" Espio whispered. "No turning back."

"Oh, please, Espio," Rouge answered. "Do you HAVE to make it so dramatic?"

"It's the truth," he simply answered, crossing his arms over his chest. And that ended their conversation.

For a few minutes, each of them stared at the door, waiting for the other to open it. Then, Knuckles stepped forward, even though he wasn't sure what he was doing, and grabbed the door handle. He swung the door open, stepping inside, with the rest of them following him in. All of them found themselves in a large room—which was to some of them, familiar, for this was where they had rescued Sonic, Shadow and Tikal. To their right, along the wall that had the large computer, was a chair not facing them.

"We're here, Metal," Tails informed. "But we didn't come to fight."

_I wish we did…_Knuckles thought, unintentionally cracking his knuckles.

Tails gave him a sideways glance, before returning his gaze upon the unturned chair. Everyone waited, but there was no response. An uneasy blanket of confusion and slight fear rested upon everyone.

"What's wrong, Metal? Have you got no courage underneath all that—"

In the middle of Rouge's taunt, the chair swung around, revealing, not Metal, but a tan panther.

"You're not Metal!" Charmy exclaimed. "Who are you?"

The tan panther stood up, smiling. "Amy should remember me…"

It dawned on Tails. "You're the person who was in her apartment!"

"Ring-a-ding-ding," he said with a malevolent grin on his lips.

_That smirk…it looks familiar…_Vector thought. _Where have I seen it before?_

Suddenly, everything clicked for the green crocodile as well. "You're also Metal Sonic!"

Everyone turned to their ally, confused. "What?" they said in unison.

"Clever, detective…" the tan panther replied. "You're not as dumb as you look."

"But there's no way!" Rouge did a double-take. "You can't possibly be—"

"Oh, but I am. Watch and learn, dearie," and with that, the panther morphed into a metallic liquid, before morphing back to the form that everyone knew him as.

"So it IS you," Espio confirmed, taking a defensive stance.

The metallic hedgehog grinned. "It's always been me…"

Knuckles took a defensive stance beside Espio. "You'll pay for what you did to Sonic and Shadow!"

Metal Sonic's grin seemed to widen, and his glowing red eyes seemed to lighten at the threat. "I'll take your word for that."

Tails didn't like the sound of this. Something was wrong. It was like Metal was WANTING Knuckles and Epsio to attack.

"Guys, we didn't come here to fight!" Tails warned.

Charmy, on the other hand, was rooting for it. He pumped his fists in the air, cheering, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

And it seemed the two were listening more to the bee than him.

…………..

It all happened too fast. Just after the words had left his mouth, Shadow felt something strike him right through the back and pierce his heart like a dagger.

He cried out in pain, not understanding what was going on. The boy's hand left his shoulder, as if denying him comfort through the hurt. A bright light blinded his view, but the pain didn't end. And then, ever so slowly, he began to feel like the life was being sucked out of him. The pain began to dull, much to his relief. The world around him began to fade away, until suddenly and quickly, like the snap of two fingers, everything went black, and he knew no more.

…………

Tikal gasped, sitting up straight on her stool. Sweat dotted her forehead, and her breathing came out as panting from her nightmare. She cleared her sight, rubbing her eyes, until she focused on Shadow. She smiled, her nerves settling. _At least he isn't really dead…_she thought, lying a hand on his cheek. But it was then that she noticed something that made her blood run cold.

The ebony hedgehog wasn't breathing.

"Shadow?" she instantly stood up, her aquamarine eyes filled with worry. Without thinking, she placed two fingers underneath his chin, searching for a heartbeat.

Nothing.

"No, no, no, no!" she exclaimed. _Maybe I just can't find it!_ She thought, grabbing his wrist and checking.

Still nothing.

"Shadow! Don't die on me! No!" Tears clouded her eyes as she frantically searched for a way to disprove her theory. There was nothing.

Shadow the Hedgehog was--

"AMY!" Tikal cried at the top of her lungs.

In an instant, she heard foots bounding up the stairs. The door burst open to reveal a panting pink hedgehog, her expression one of shock. "What is it, Tikal?"

The apricot echidna struggled to talk, but finally was able to exclaim, tears streaming down her cheeks:

"Shadow's dead!"

…………….

Cream stared at the door in the hospital, waiting for it to open. She had been standing there who-knows-how-long, but she didn't care. Mr. Sonic was in there and hopefully well. Suddenly, to her relief, the door opened. One of the doctors came out, and looked at the young rabbit.

"Are you Cream the Rabbit?" he asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes, sir."

He smiled. "It's very nice to meet you, young hero." He took the rabbit's hand, shaking it gently but respectfully.

"What do you mean?" Cream asked, confused. "I'm not a—"

"Because you called us, Sonic will be fine. The seizure wasn't that serious. Luckily, he doesn't have epilepsy…"

"Epell—" Cream couldn't say the word.

The doctor merely chuckled. "Don't hurt yourself, young lady. Sonic can leave whenever he's ready, so you can go ahead and see him, okay?"

The rabbit nodded, smiling. "Thank you, sir!"

"You're quite welcome," and with that, the doctor went on his way.

Cream quickly headed inside the room, and saw that Sonic was still out. She grabbed a stool quietly, and hopped onto it. Her eyes stared at the unconscious hedgehog. In her mind, she prayed that Sonic would be back to normal. She didn't know how it would be possible, but oh, she prayed. Sadly, she let her eyes travel to the floor.

She missed the old Sonic she knew, who was always bright and smiling despite whatever would be happening. He was always there, always comforting, always dependable. He could make anyone feel special just by looking at them and giving them his smile. She missed that smile. She missed his spontaneous nature.

With a smile, she remembered when it was only a few days after Emerl's death, and she was out by the flowers, remembering the necklace full of tulips that she had given her robotic friend. She remembered that Sonic had come up and talked to her. She remembered that when she had turned away to not be talked to, Sonic had picked her up, and twirled her around, getting her to giggle with glee at the thrill.

Such fond memories…but now, as she looked at the azure hedgehog once more, she wondered if there would be any more. Her question was answered when Sonic's eyes fluttered open.

"Where…what…" he murmured, re-closing his eyes tightly. He sat up, groaning. "What happened…?"

Cream's heart soared. "You're back!" With a cry of joy, she reached out, hugging Sonic tightly.

"I'm…back?" the blue hedgehog was confused for a minute, but then he remembered everything. He hugged the young rabbit back. "Yes. I'm back…and it's all thanks to you, Cream."

The rabbit pulled away and blushed at the compliment.

Sonic smiled for the first time in days. Cream then smiled back, feeling proud that she was the one who had been able to get Sonic back to normal.

But the moment soon ended as Sonic asked, "Cream…where's the others? I need to be filled in on what's happened…"

The rabbit hopped off her stool, her expression changing to the serious tone. "Amy is at Tails'. In fact, I think that's where everyone is!"

Sonic nodded, throwing the thin sheet off. "Then to Tails' Workshop we go!" He hopped off the bed, landing on the floor. He then bent down to pick up Cream. "Ready?"

Cream nodded, holding onto Cheese as she slipped into Sonic's arms. "Ready!"

And with that, Sonic jogged down the metal hallway, down the stairs, and out of the hospital. Once he got outside, however, he paused for a minute, before bursting off and breaking the sound barrier. To their surprise, though, as they ran down Station Square, they could hear people cheering. Why? It was the first time in a week that they had heard a sonic boom. To them, it was a sign that Sonic had returned. What a glorious moment it was. Cream didn't want this feeling to ever go away.

Too bad it had to, for she had no idea what awaited them at Tails' workshop…


	10. It's Not Over

"Shadow…" a wicked, dark, feminine voice spoke to him.

He stirred. Surprisingly, he couldn't feel anything. It was like he was…numb--even after all that pain that had ensued only moments before.

"Shadow…get up…" that same voice hissed.

Once again, he stirred. Hesitantly, he opened his amber eyes, only to see a tall woman draped in dark violet and ebony garments stand towering above him. Despite her haunting aura, she was beautiful. Her face was smooth, her deep blue eyes lovely; everything about her was divine. She had straight ebony hair that seemed to outline her face, even though it ended well beneath her shoulders. Shadow couldn't deny it. She was beautiful, but in a dark way.

"They say you are the Ultimate Life form…" she spat. "If you are so, then you should know to obey your superiors."

Superiors?! What was this stranger talking about?! He got up—which surprised himself, since he felt weak—and stood firmly, with his crimson eyes set on hers.

"Who says that you are my superior?" he retorted.

The woman seemed amused by his question. "Do you not know where you are?" she asked, as if mocking him. When he gave no response, she stretched out an arm, pointing to the world around him.

Shadow, for the first time, took notice of his surroundings. Words cannot describe what he saw. It was a horrible, heart-wrenching, soul-sucking sight that even the bravest of souls would tremble at. Only one word came to his mind of where he was—and he dared not say it.

The woman chuckled, as if reading his thoughts. "At least you are taking it better than the others who have arrived here…"

But at that moment, not being able to bear the sight any longer, Shadow turned to his right, and for the first time in his life, vomited.

The woman didn't seem phased by the action. She merely watched until his body shook from not being able to bring up anything more.

When he was done, he turned to look at her, his arms still wrapped around his stomach, and still slightly shaking.

"Get used to doing that, Shadow…" she said flatly. "It won't be the last."

The ebony hedgehog refused to show any emotion, but he was terrified. What could be worse than what he saw already?

Everything he had heard about this place was terribly wrong. The real deal was worse—WAY worse. I dare not say what poor Shadow saw, dear reader, but let me tell you this:

It is a sight reserved for the wicked.

"Water…" Shadow whispered, the heat beginning to get to him. "Is there any water…?"

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not…that's another thing you're going to have to get used to. But even if there was, I'm not sure your body could keep the liquid down. There are much worse things to see."

This time, Shadow couldn't contain his emotions. He fell down to his knees. "NO!" he cried, hot tears falling down his cheeks for the first time in a long time. They seemed to burn the very fur they touched, and evaporated before they even left his jawbone. "This can't be happening! I can't be here! I can't!"

The woman glared at him sternly. Okay…so he wasn't taking this as well as she thought. "You are, Shadow. Accept it. There's no way you can change it. You were ignorant enough to not renew your life—and now you will pay the consequences."

"NO!" Shadow felt desperate. "Please!" He let his clenched fist bang against the scorching ground beneath him, ignoring the burns his hand received from the contact. "I wanted to wake up! Dang it—I WANTED TO WAKE UP! I DIDN'T WANT THIS! I WANTED TO CHANGE!"

"…Shadow?"

Shadow gasped, hardly believing what his ears heard. No…she couldn't be here, too…

"Maria…" the black and red hedgehog turned his head to see his old friend there. What he saw tore his heart into pieces.

She was completely battered and burned—in horrible condition. Her blonde hair was matted and uncombed—nothing like the beautiful silkiness it contained when she was alive. Her clothes were tattered and burnt at some edges as well—in fact, her whole left sleeve was burnt off. And yet, despite the marks this horrid place had left on her, she still looked beautiful.

She smiled weakly, as if it pained her to tug her lips upward. "Shadow…it's wonderful to see you again…"

"Young girl—get back to your place! Why have you left your punishment?" the tall woman barked.

Maria's eyes turned to her, the beautiful oceanic blue filling with fear. "I…I was told to come here…they said I was needed for something…"

Her voice was honest—like Shadow had known it to be. But the woman's eyes widened at her words, and she at once turned to the ebony hedgehog at her feet. "You have found favor in His eyes…" she spat at him.

"Wh-what…?" Shadow whispered, confused. What was going on?

Maria's blue eyes showed a small ray of hope. "So they were right…He is what they say He is…"

The woman turned to Maria. "Shut up!" she yelled, her voice roaring loudly.

Maria shrunk back in fear, her eyes clouding over again into a dull blue.

"What…? Who's 'He'?" Shadow asked, his voice sounding hoarse.

The woman then turned to Shadow, the same rotten hatred in her eyes. "Interesting that you should ask…" she said evenly, but her voice was firm and filled with distaste. "After all, you have met His son."

Shadow's mind filled with memories. "The boy…" he whispered.

"Yes…" she hissed, almost growling. "That would be him."

"Oh, Shadow…" Maria whispered, her voice trembling. Shadow turned to face his childhood friend. It looked like she was crying, but no tears fell. However, there was no mistaking the happiness in her voice. "You have been blessed so much…"

As Shadow stood up, he saw the woman beginning to shake with rage. "I hate Him…" she kept muttering over and over.

"Maria…what is she talking about? What's going on?" the Ultimate life form turned to his friend.

Maria opened her mouth to reply, but the woman cut in, shrieking with rage, "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"

Shadow at once turned around, and both he and Maria stared at the woman fearfully, as she continued her blood-curling cries. After she was done ranting, she leaned down, chest heaving with each hot breath. Her deep blue eyes were filled with a hate Shadow thought didn't exist. "I never…EVER…want to see your face again, you Beloved! NEVER! NOW GET OUT!"

Shadow took a step back in fear, not knowing what to do. Luckily, Maria did. She took a hold of his wrist in a gentle but firm grasp, and began to run away.

"Come, Shadow!" she said. "I will explain what's happening later—just keep running!"

Shadow didn't nod or anything, but he complied. His mind was elsewhere, like what did that woman mean when she called him 'Beloved'? Who was the little boy's father—and why does that woman hate him so much? The rage that had radiated from her…it was immense! Shadow couldn't believe the way her voice had sounded when she told them to get out. It…it was…he couldn't describe it!

And to tell the truth, Shadow never wanted to see that woman again, either…

………………………………..

"Amy! Amy, we're here!" Cream yelled, bounding into the living room.

"Chao, chao!" Cheese cried, following his friend.

Sonic followed them. "Are you sure they're here, Cream?" he asked.

The rabbit nodded. "Amy said they'd be here…she called me and told me."

"Then why isn't anyone—"

"Cream? Is that you?" a voice asked, and rushed footsteps became louder as a pink hedgehog came running into the room. "Oh, Cream! You won't believe what happened!" With that, she grabbed the young rabbit, pulling her into her arms and sobbing, not even noticing her blue hero.

Sonic stayed silent, not minding that he wasn't noticed.

"Why? What happened, Amy?" Cream asked kindly. 

"Chao, chao…" Cheese flew right beside them.

"Oh, Cream…" Amy's shoulders shook violently as she sobbed uncontrollably. "It's Shadow…he's…he's…"

Sonic paled. No…

Cream seemed to get the same message. Her baby blue eyes began to water. "He's…dead?"

Amy nodded, still sobbing. "Oh, Cream…Tikal's such a mess right now…everything's ruined…"

Cream began to cry as well. She tried to stay strong for her friend, but the news was too much for the 6-year-old. To her, Shadow was someone who just needed a friend. And he got that with them—all of them. He seemed so much happier when everyone was around. But now, he was gone…

Sonic couldn't believe it. The great Shadow the Hedgehog…dead… It didn't seem like it could be true. That ebony hedgehog was the Ultimate life form—or so he claimed—and it seemed like nothing could even keep him pinned for more than 5 seconds. But death had finally claimed his soul…

_He was a great guy… _he thought sadly. His mind recalled their fights, their name-callings…

He closed his eyes.

And it was at that time, Amy looked up. She gasped. "Sonic…?"

His eyes reopened as he looked up. A sad smirk crossed his face. "Yeah…it's me, Ames…"

"Oh, Sonic!" With that, she got up and raced over to him, embracing the blue hedgehog in her arms. "I knew you could do it! I knew you weren't gone completely! Oh Cream…thank you so much!"

Cream smiled sorrowfully. "You're welcome, Amy."

Sonic let out a sad chuckle. "Amy…I don't think now's the time to celebrate…"

The pink hedgehog sighed. "Yeah…I guess you're right…" She loosened her hold, sniffing a couple of times.

"Well, come on…" she said finally. "I'll show him to you…"

……………………………..

"We just came here to talk!" Tails exclaimed desperately.

Metal Sonic let a resonating dark laugh come from him. "Just to talk…? What kind of fools are you? I will never listen to mortals who are weaker than me…"

Knuckles gritted his teeth, tensing up. "We are not weaker! We can defeat you!"

There seemed to be a certain gleam in Metal Sonic's eye as the echidna said that. It was almost…pleased? "Then show me."

"No!" Tails' eyes widened. "No! It's a trap! Don't do it!"

"Uh…I agree with the kid!" Vector piped up. "I'm not gettin' good vibes…"

"Ya whimps!" Charmy mocked. "Fight 'im!"

Another dark chuckle from Metal Sonic. "Your bee friend speaks wisely. You are merely cowards unless you pit your strengths against mine."

Rouge narrowed her eyes. "No. Fox-boy is right. You're up to something, Metal. It's as plain as day."

Espio then squinted his eyes, as if synchronizing the enemy, before finally standing to full height. "The others are right."

"What?!" Knuckles then stood up as well, confused. What were they talking about…?

A long silence ensued as Metal scowled. "Fine…if you do not wish to combat, then we will talk."

He then turned and sat down in the chair he had been sitting in only moments earlier, resting his hands on the arm rests, and looking regal. The robot held himself with some sort of cruel dignity.

"But I must comment, this is an unexpected visit. I have not known you all for just coming to chat with your nemesises…" Metal Sonic spoke, regaining his upper hand.

"You mean nemesies?" Charmy asked.

Metal's head snapped towards the flying bee. "What?"

"Isn't that how nemesis is used in plural form?" Charmy replied.

"No…it's nemesises," Metal Sonic corrected.

"You sure?" Charmy inquired. "It's not nemesies?"

"No."

"Nemisi?"

"NO!" Metal Sonic shouted. He raised his arm, a small plasma cannon coming from it, and aimed it at Charmy. "Just shut up, you insolent insect!"

"Wow…what a tongue-twister…I should try saying that five times fast!" Charmy grinned, then begun to do it. "Insolentinsectinsolentinsectinsolentinsectinsolack—"

"SHUT UP!" With that, Metal Sonic fired his gun at Charmy, who quickly flew out of the way with a quick, 'Yikes!'

"Hey! What happened to the talking?" Vector quickly demanded. He didn't like it when one of his teammates was threatened…even if they _were_ annoying.

"Things change…" Metal Sonic turned, aiming his cannon at the others. "Hurry with your questions. Or else."

The group quickly exchanged nervous glances. Then, they pushed young Tails forward. The fox stumbled to the front, looking up with nervous baby blue eyes. Metal Sonic only glared back with cold red eyes. Tails cleared his throat. Better get this done with fast…

"What exactly did you poison Shadow with?"

Metal Sonic gave the best smirk he managed. "A chemical I created to do what the old Doctor couldn't do—kill Sonic the Hedgehog."

"So…you mean to say, that you were originally planning to get Sonic poisoned," Tails reasoned.

"Yes, you stupid twerp. It's what I was created for. Now continue or else I will blow up your friends," Metal urged, aiming the cannon dangerously at the people behind the fox.

Tails took a deep breath, calming himself and keeping his cool—a technique he had learned from Sonic. The hedgehog had said it would help him to appear confident, so then his adversary would see he wasn't just a kid--he was a hero. And hero's mean business. "So…that means you were also planning that Shadow be the one to become insane."

"Yes. But things got switched around, as you can guess," the robot replied.

"I see…" Tails nodded thoughtfully. "I have but a few more questions."

Metal Sonic made a growling sound. "Out with it."

Tails didn't need to be told twice. "Being the highly intelligent 'bot you are…you knew that it would be unwise to not have a cure for the poison, correct? In case the worst of the worst happened."

The adversary smirked. "The worst of the worst could never happen. I am a robot, the poison would have no affect on me."

"But you still had to have made a cure," Tails pressed.

"Correct. I did make a cure…" Metal grinned. "But the funny thing is, dear fox: the only way for the cure to work…"

Everyone seemed to lean in a little bit as the robot's voice drifted off. Tension-filled silence covered them as they all held their breaths to hear what their enemy had to say.

"…is for the victim to be dead."


	11. The Cure

Tikal's loud sobs were the only thing that could be heard in the room.

Amy sat on the stool, staring at the dead body on the hospital bed in front of her. Silent tears fell down her muzzle as she blinked her forest green eyes every once in a while.

Tails was looking away from the scene, as if it was too much to bear.

Sonic kept his head down in reverence, letting Tikal cry onto his shoulder.

And Shadow…well, Shadow was dead.

The concept seemed like it was too big to grasp. He was the _Ultimate Life form_. He wasn't supposed to die--he _couldn't_ die. And yet, he did.

It didn't make sense to them how a creature that was created _immortal_ could die a _mortal_ death. But it happened.

Or so they thought.

-

"Say WHAT?!"

Amy could barely believe her ears after the weary negotiators returned (of course, Metal Sonic gave them a 'friendly' exit).

"I'm telling you, that's what he said!" Knuckles repeated, breathless. His chest heaved with each inhale and exhale. "He said that the only way for the cure to work is if he IS dead!"

Tikal stood up. "So what IS this cure?" Her heart was swelling with hope—but she was praying it wasn't about to crumble apart.

"That's just it! I don't know! The only clue he gave us was that it was that Sonic knows the answer!" and for emphasis, he pointed at the blue hedgehog, who was the most confused out of them all.

"Run that by me again?" Sonic asked.

Espio groaned, placing a head on his forehead. _I'm surrounded by idiots_, he thought.

Tikal's head snapped around to face the blue hedgehog. "Sonic…the only reason Metal Sonic would tell the truth is if he was confident you couldn't remember something…or rather…something you _wouldn't want_ to remember."

Tails caught on. It was evident by the way his mouth opened in awe and his baby blue eyes started to sparkle excitedly. "She's right! And what you wouldn't want to remember is what happened in that room on his base!"

Everyone turned to Sonic as Vector asked, "Well, what happened?"

Sonic's eyes clouded over for a millisecond, before he regained himself. No. He wasn't going to cower down. It was time to open up.

With a deep breath, he wasted no time in explaining everything that had happened in his mind-playing session. Ten minutes later, the whole group was informed.

It was silent in the room by that time. In fact, it was so silent, you could hear the clock ticking.

Then, finding the quiet to be rather annoying, Charmy started singing the unforgettable song Sonic had heard in Metal's base:

_Mommy wants a chocolate cake! Abracadabra! Round and round and round we go, where we stop, nobody knows! I am so sorry! All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth! _

Sonic winced, but then Tails jumped up, exclaiming as if the world couldn't hear him, "I GOT IT! I GOT IT!"

"What is it?" Tikal was on her feet in seconds a well. She was holding on to the thin thread of hope. _Please let it be the cure… _

"It's Maria!" the fox grinned, as if it were the simplest thing in the universe.

"Maria?" half of the group chorused in confusion.

"What makes you say that?" Rouge questioned.

Tails turned to them, his namesakes fidgeting and twirling with excitement. "Don't you see it? Every first letter of each sentence in the song spells M-A-R-I-A?"

Silence.

"Why is it always the easy things that are hard to see?" Knuckles complained to the sky, hands raised as if asking the high heavens.

"Oh forget that, Knucklehead! Now that we know the answer, what does that have to do with the cure?" Rouge couldn't help but backhand the echidna on the head before asking her question.

Another deep-thought-moment.

"Well, they're both dead! Maria could just be the thing that helps bring Shadow back to life!" Charmy exclaimed. His face bore a loopy grin.

After hearing that, Tikal bounded upstairs.

"Wait! Tikal! TIKAL!" Amy yelled after her friend.

But the echidna didn't wait. Something in her heart told her that now was the time.

And even she wasn't sure what that meant.

-

Back in the-four-letter-worded-place-that-I-dare-not-speak-its-name, Shadow gritted his teeth as he slid to his knees. He could feel his fur singe to nothing from the incredible heat.

He tried not to complain. Oh, he tried. But it was so easier to swear and let his emotions run angrily.

No! He wasn't going to do that again!

Last time Shadow let his rage go free, he had almost destroyed all of earth.

Something he wanted to face again? Definitely not.

"Shadow…Shadow, please! You must hurry! If you do not make it there in time, you will not be able to go back," Maria's voice was filled with desperation, and her oceanic eyes held the same emotion.

The hedgehog let his head hang. It…it was too much…

Every breath came out rasped, and he could feel his rib cage shake from the amount of effort it took to simply inhale and exhale. The heat made sunburn feel like a blessing, and the pain…

He didn't even want to go there.

"Shadow, please! You can't give up—you mustn't!" Now Maria was on her knees, the heat burning her skin in seconds to a crisp red.

Shadow risked looking up, seeing fear in her eyes. But it wasn't for her. Oh, no. It was for him.

She was afraid for him.

"Maria…" his voice barely came out as a whisper. "I…I can't…"

"Shadow, please! PLEASE! You have to make it!" the blonde girl in front of him was almost shaking him, trying to get it through his skull that he had to go back.

During their run from that crazy woman, Maria had explained to him that the One was going to perform a miracle…one that he had never done before. And it was all going to be for him, for Shadow. Why, Shadow couldn't figure it out. Even Maria told him it was impossible for a living being with a soul to go from the spirit world to the 3-dimensional world. It just simply wasn't done.

And yet, it was going to happen.

And if Shadow wasn't ready, then he would forever be there, in the fiery pit, with her.

"Maria…" he was too weak. It took to much strength to even speak her name.

"NO! Shadow, you HAVE to make it! You have to!" Maria's eyes swelled up in tears, but before they even had a chance to fall, they evaporated into the air.

Shadow opened his mouth to reply, but a sudden whip lash on his back made him cry out in pain.

"There you are…you Beloved…" the voice could only belong to the deranged woman they met earlier. Her voice was filled with a rich hate.

Shadow panted, voice hissing with pain. Blood slowly dripped down his back from the fresh wound. The heat only made it ten times worse.

Maria's eyes filled with fear at the sight of the woman. "N-no! Please don't hurt him!" she cried.

"Pathetic human…" the woman then flicked her whip at Maria, striking her cleanly on her cheek.

Shadow's eyes widened, before his fists clenched with rage. "NO!" with strength he didn't even know he had, he stood up, chest heaving with each forced breath.

The woman raised her eyebrow. "Oh? So the Beloved has finally decided he hasn't had enough pain?" She raised her whip threateningly.

The ebony hedgehog's eyes clouded over in fear. Do not think him weak, reader, either. Have you been in the same position, you would be scared, too. Perhaps even more afraid than he.

The woman grinned sadistically. Again, she whipped Maria, this time getting her directly on the shoulder. Maria cried out in pain, falling over to her side. More heat caused her ripped clothes to burn even more, until they were barely there.

"Maria!" Shadow called out in horror.

The woman smiled at Shadow's predicament. Then, she slowly began to walk around the black hedgehog. Her voice was filled with torment.

"Tell me, Shadow…do you know why she is bleeding?"

Another whip contact with Maria's skin made the hedgehog jump. But Shadow remained silent. His eyes were wide with unimaginable fear.

"It's all the wrong she has done in her life…all the sins she has committed…being paid for…all right now…"

Another crack of the whip to Maria's back.

"And yet you are afraid…why?"

Another crack. By now, Maria was sobbing heavily.

"Is it because…you know you can do something…? But…you are afraid of the price…?"

Another whip lash.

"But why are you even thinking it…? It's not your price to pay…"

Another whip.

"It's all hers."

Another crack.

"All."

Another.

"Hers."

An—

"_NO!" _

Before Shadow even knew what he was doing, he stood in front of Maria, arms outstretched. Every limb shook, every muscle tense with fear. But his eyes were a whole different story.

"Don't…hurt…her…" it took a lot of strength to simply say that. And it wasn't all physical, either.

"Oh?" there was a tint of anger behind the woman's voice as she raised her whip once more. "And why not?"

Shadow swallowed, mentally begging for saliva. "H-hurt…hurt me…instead…I…"

Maria weakly raised her head an inch off of the ground. Her ears could barely believe what they were hearing.

"I…I will pay…the price…" to tell the truth, Shadow could barely believe what he was saying, either.

The woman narrowed her eyes. Hate radiated from her. "And why are you willing to do that?"

"B-because someone…long…long ago…paid the price…for me…" and as if those were the magic words, Shadow could feel strength spread to every muscle of his body.

It was silent. Long, and silent. And then…

"_How_?" there was so much hate in her voice, Shadow could promise it was literally dripping from her mouth. "You…you DON'T BELONG WITH HIM! You…you were MADE to destroy! You were CREATED to be the ESSENSE of SIN!"

And as quickly as it had come, Shadow could feel his strength shatter. She…she was right…. But no. Something (a faint voice maybe?) told him that he was more. But that voice was so small compared to everything else—every_one_ else. Horrific flashbacks ripped through his mind of when he lived on the ARK. All those people…telling him he was only meant to destroy…only to kill…was it true?

But there was that small voice again, defying every single accusation.

The whole controversy made him wonder: where did he belong?

There were so many people telling him he was destined for disaster.

There were scarce people telling him he belonged to the One.

So many voices…but which to follow?

As Shadow closed his eyes, he could still hear the woman telling him how he was made for destruction. It wasn't long until he could hear many more voices, all telling him the same thing.

He was a murderer.

The words echoed throughout his head, pounding and tormenting him.

_A murderer…a murderer…_

Killer. Weapon. Annihilator. Assassin. Sinner. Fool. Worthless. Tool. Creation. It. Slave…

_Murderer…murderer…_

Throughout it all, he could barely hear the small voice whispering to him. And what the voice was whispering was uplifting, beautiful. But did it describe him?

Where did he belong?

And as soon as he asked that question, his heart—his soul—knew.

"I belong to Him."

And as quick as a blink of an eye, he wasn't in that-four-letter-worded-place-that-I-dare-not-speak-its-name.

In fact, he wasn't sure where he was. But the first thing he noticed in the new area was that all the pain, all his wounds were gone.

Hallelujah!

Shadow couldn't remember being so happy. He jumped. He ran. He laughed (for the first time in a very long time). He did a lot of stuff which if the Sonic Crew were there, they would've thought him crazy.

But the pain was gone.

_Gone_.

Who knew a four-letter-word could bring so much joy?

Shadow's smile completely vanished when he looked in front of him. Holy. Cow.

There was an open door in front of him. Behind it, he could hear voices. But they weren't just ordinary voices. They were…powerful voices; voices that sounded like they belonged to kings.

Shadow risked peeking in. Why not? He had to see what was behind it.

And what he saw literally made his heart stop.

At the front of the room before him was a throne, a large one, in fact, with someone who looked of jewels sitting in it. Encircling the throne was a rainbow that looked like an emerald. And then, surrounding the big throne, were twenty-four other thrones, each sat on by an elder dressed in white and wearing crowns of gold. From the throne flashed lightning and thunder, which sounded so suddenly that it made Shadow jump unconsciously.

In front of the throne were seven blazing lamps and a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. Then, around the throne, were four creatures with eyes all around them, and each had six wings. One creature was like a lion, the second like an ox, the third had a face like a man, and the last was like a flying eagle.

Every living thing in the room chattered with one another. The overall feeling was…happy. Joyous. It was like the perfect time with good friends.

Everything was perfect.

Shadow, captivated by the wonder of it all, couldn't help but want to be apart of it. He wanted to be there, talking and having the greatest of times with them. It was hard not to want so.

Lost in the place's beauty, Shadow didn't realize what he was doing until after he did it. Until after he stepped foot inside the holy room, and until after everything fell silent and looked at him, staring at him.

Shadow didn't need to be told what they were thinking. He already knew by the looks he was receiving. He knew he had made a mistake. He knew…

_Something did not belong._


	12. Remember and Go

The hedgehog thought it was ironic. In a way. Throughout this adventure, he had been searching for that one special place—that one place where he could say he _belonged_…

Well, he certainly didn't find it here.

At least, he thought so.

It was evident by the way the creatures near the throne instantly bared their teeth at him. They were _threatening_ him. Even the little lamps seemed to glow with a fury that Shadow could not name.

Everyone was glaring angrily at him. Everyone. Except…save that big dude on the throne.

Shadow couldn't exactly describe how the man was looking at him. It wasn't necessarily…nice. But it wasn't necessarily hostile, either. It was…

…_acknowledging_?

The black one couldn't bring himself to look into the king's eyes. It just…he felt he wasn't worthy enough to even be standing there. _He didn't belong_.

Then, the person who looked to be made of gems stood up. Immediately, all the creatures in the room ceased staring at Shadow, and focused their attention on he, bowing down in high respect.

In a voice that seemed to be all-knowing, omnipotent, powerful—indescribably, really—the 'leader' (as it appeared), said, "**Be still.**"

It shook Shadow to the core. The voice…it was so filled with…with feelings inconceivable! And dear reader, Shadow has not been afraid very much in his lifetime, but this time, he was beyond afraid.

He was _terrified_.

In fact, he was so terrified, he fell to his face on the ground, shaking. This power…that emitted from the being before him…it was too great! There were no words to describe it. There truly were no words to describe it.

But again, the almighty voice said, "**Be still. What you have seen with your eyes is only a glimpse of what happens to those who are ignorant.**"

Shadow couldn't bring himself to say anything. In fact, he couldn't bring himself to _do_ anything. He was still horrified of the power that filled this entire room. And yet, he also couldn't grasp what this powerful being said. Maria…was going through something much worse…?

"**The price all living creatures pay…"**

Death…that world truly made sense now, in a crazy way. It wasn't just _dying_, like on Earth and Mobius. It was…it was something deeper. More sinister.

Something he didn't want for Maria.

He wanted to talk; he wanted to beg this being to take Maria away from that awful place. But he couldn't even bring himself to think it. Fear was too great; it clogged everything in his mind. It even fogged his throat.

But somehow, this being knew what Shadow wanted. A sudden sadness seemed to envelope the room—also with more, confusing, mind-blowing emotions that Shadow couldn't name.

"**I did all that I could to give her eternal life. But I could not make her accept my gift…"**

In a flash, Shadow saw a billion images running through his mind—ones he did not know. A stable…a manger…a child…an older version of the child…that same man being dipped into the water…that same man _walking_ on water…that same man smiling and laughing with his friends…that same man being betrayed by one of them…that same man dying…on a tree…like the boy had…for him…

Shadow didn't know what to think. Who was this man…? What was going on? Whoever he was, he must've been pretty important for such a powerful being to pay close attention to…

"**My son…only I can give life. Without me, no one can live eternally. Remember what I have said and go."**

Shadow could barely think, _Go where?_ before a sudden bright light enveloped the room, and he felt a weird tingling sensation run through every inch of his body…

-

"_And I believe in you…_" Tikal sang quietly, a tear falling down her cheek as she stroked Shadow's hand with her thumb softly.

Amy stood nearby, just listening and perplexed. What was going on…?

"_Yes, I believe in you…_" Tikal repeated.

Amy leaned against the metal wall, arms crossed over her chest. She didn't know where Tikal had heard this song…but it was really pretty.

"_Yes, I believe in you…_" Tikal repeated once more.

Just what was she doing? Amy blinked a few times, still confused. Tikal had not said a word (besides singing) after she had suddenly ran up the stairs. All the others were probably downstairs, still discussing the matter. But Amy wanted to find out what her friend had on her mind…

"_And I know you'll find…_" Tikal paused a moment.

She opened her sapphire blue eyes to look at the lifeless body of Shadow, before whispering, "…the truth."

And then, probably one of the most amazing miracles of all time happened in that room at that moment.

"The truth…" the whisper was so quiet, Tikal and Amy could almost promise they didn't hear it in the first place. But they did, and they were beyond shocked.

Shadow stirred, his cold body suddenly regaining warmth. "I want to find…the truth…"

Tikal's hand flew to her mouth, gasping beyond reason and her eyes brimming with tears. "Shadow…?"

Tikal never thought she'd see Shadow's hauntingly beautiful crimson eyes ever again—but she did, at that moment, as they fluttered open and stared at her with complete shock.

"Tikal?" he rasped.

"Oh my gosh, you're alive!" she exclaimed, instantly wrapping her arms around him and crying with beyond happy tears.

Shadow could barely believe it, either. Alive…

Amy was already out of the room, running down the stairs and practically screaming, "_He's alive!!!!!!!!_"

Needless to say, a good five minutes later, and the black hedgehog was getting hugs and slaps on the back and all that good hey-I-thought-you-were-dead-but-maybe-not greetings.

And a good half hour later, Shadow had been told of his friend's whole adventure.

He frowned after hearing the story. "That doesn't make sense. In Eggman's diary, he said he planned for Sonic to get in the one room. But when Metal Sonic told you about it, he said he planned for me to go there."

"Easy," Vector answered with a grin. "It was originally Eggman's idea, and Rouge and Knuckles _were_ reading from his diary. But Metal Sonic stole it and changed it so then you would get stuck in there. But doc's plan worked out after all."

"But it's a good thing no one died! I'm so glad you're okay, Mr. Shadow!" Cream smiled happily.

Shadow looked at the young rabbit, and smiled faintly back. "Me too."

"This calls for a celebration! How about ice cream? My treat!" Sonic grinned.

All at once, Tails, Cream, and Charmy exclaimed, "Yeah! All right!"

"I'm sure I can spare room for ice cream…" Rouge said thoughtfully, a grin appearing on her face.

"Save some for me as well," Knuckles chimed in.

Vector scratched his chin thoughtfully. "A good detective should get ice cream. Might stimulate brain cells…"

"Oh brother…" Espio groaned.

"I would love to get ice cream! Make sure its strawberry!" Amy exclaimed.

Tikal looked to Shadow—in fact, everyone did, to hear what their friend had to say.

The black hedgehog grinned slightly. "Ice cream…" --tension filled the room—"…sounds good."

The room then erupted into cheers as everyone filed out—even Tikal and Shadow, who was still a bit weak—and ran out into the city, heroes once again.

Like they would always be.

**THE END**

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

The bell chimed as the door to the store opened. The human behind the cash register looked up, acknowledged who it was, and then widened their eyes.

That was the person they _least _expected to be here, at a Christian book store.

Shadow the Hedgehog ignored the funny look he was given as he shuffled through, looking for a certain book. It had been a week since his dimensional travel through Hell and back, and he hadn't stopped looking for information about that man he had seen and about that all-powerful being he had encountered.

He had found some interesting things, too.

But what he really wanted to find was this big book people called "The Bible". That book seemed to hold a lot of truth to it. Plus, it was written over a very long time span (he couldn't remember the exact amount of years) and did not have a single loose end in it.

Surely what it says must be true, mustn't it?

Besides, many people have died just because they believed in this book.

That must mean something, too, Shadow decided.

And so, he wanted to find this book for himself. And read it, too. No matter how long it took.

But it took no more than five minutes to locate it in the book store. He frowned as he saw there were different types of it. What kind should he get? Do they all say the same thing…?

"Can I help you, sir?" the man behind the cash register asked him.

Shadow turned to look at him, and under his gaze, he could see the man trembling with fear. He hated that. Why did people still chose to be afraid of him? He meant no harm…

"I'm trying to find this book your people call 'The Bible', but there seem to be many versions of it. Which one holds the truth?" he said bluntly.

The man behind the cash register could barely believe his ears. It was shown by the rate of time it took for his jaw to hit the counter.

"I…uh…well…all of them hold the truth…but some of them are more difficult to read than others…I personally like the New International Version…" he said, voice quavering.

"Hmm…" Shadow turned back to look at the books in front of him. New International Version…ah, there it was. He reached up and took one of them, opening it to a random page to see if what the man said was true.

The first chapter of a part called "Nahum".

He read:

"_The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet."_

That truly sounded like the powerful being he had met earlier. The Lord was what they called him…? Interesting…

He opened to another random page to see more proof if this was a true book.

Micah. Chapter 7, verses 14 through 15. He read:

"_Sheperd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders._"

Hmm…was this 'the Lord' speaking to someone? This book truly intrigued Shadow, but he wanted one final proof that this was the book of truth—the book that would answer his life-long question, 'Where do I belong?'

...and many others, as well.

And there, the third time he opened the book, he found the section that made him sure _this was it_.

Psalm 91.

He read:

"_He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart._"

Shadow didn't even need to read anymore. This…Lord…this…God they speak of…he must be all that they talk about. He must be that being that he had stood before a week ago.

Truly he must be—and Shadow knew he existed. Shadow knew. He had been there—in his presence. He had felt it.

God existed.

And now, in his hands, was the key to finding out more about him.

A smile slowly spread over Shadow's muzzle as he closed the book. This was it. This was what he was looking for.

As he walked to the cash register, he knew he discovered something more, though.

In this God, he had found refuge. In this God, he had found a true purpose.

In this God, he found _where he belonged_.

And to him, that was the greatest discovery of all time.

**THE END (AGAIN)**

Author's Notes: Ah! It is over! At long last! XD Well, I ain't too terribly proud of this story…but I hope this last chapter ties up a few loose ends in it. XD LOL I hope you liked it anyway! n.n Merry Christmas!

Disclaimers: I own nothing. Sonic and all related characters belong to SEGA. I do own Iza, however. n.n So…I guess I was lying about not owning anything. XD Oh, and the song, _The Truth_ belongs to ZOEgirl who did an excellent job of singing it. n.n 'Twas very beautiful and my encouragement for writing this story.

Author's Notes (cont.): Now, it is past midnight, and I think the Cougar is overdue for some rest . Oy…too much work for too little pay, eh? As Hoverbike Girl would say, "An Author's work is never done…" n.n Merry Christmas! (waves)


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